OVER  the 

DRAWING 

BOARD 

,/?  Draftsmf.:'   :  ,    "'.id  Book 


BEN-J-LUBSCKEZ  F-A- 1  'A 


Over  the  Drawing  Board 


Over  the  Drawing  Board 

A   Draftsmen's   Hand  Book 


BEN     J.     LUBSCHEZ 

Fellow  of  the  American  Institute  of  Architects. 

Author  of  "Perspective,  an  Elementary 

Text  Book." 


PUBLISHED   BY 

THE  JOURNAL   OF   THE   AMERICAN    INSTITUTE 

OF  ARCHITECTS 

THE  OCTAGON,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
1918 


Copyright,    1918 
By  BEN  J.  LUBSCHEZ 


PRINTED    BY 

GEORGE  I.   WILSON  &   SONS,  Inc. 
150  Lafayette  St.,  New  York 


PREFACE 

It  was  a  quite  common  custom  in  the  West 
during  the  early  nineties  for  draftsmen  to  visit 
each  other's  boards  and  discuss  their  work  and 
methods,  or  during  the  noon  hour  while  eating 
lunch  at  the  board  or  at  the  big  detail  table  which 
was  used  only  occasionally,  to  talk  over  past  ex- 
periences in  other  offices  and  tell  about  little  short- 
cuts and  methods  of  other  draftsmen — that  is 
how  I  first  heard  and  learned  of  the  work  of 
Harvey  Ellis  and  D.  A.  Gregg.  Again  perhaps 
one  of  the  older  men  was  working  on  a  particularly 
interesting  drawing  and  the  student  and  some  of 
the  younger  men  were  allowed  to  look  on  for  a 
few  minutes  and  even  to  ask  a  question  or  two. 
All  these  things  did  not  help  the  orderly  working 
of  the  drafting  room  but  they  contributed  mightily 
to  the  education  of  the  draftsman,  particularly 
if  he  were  anxious  to  learn.  I  can  recall  no  ex- 
periences of  my  "cub"  days  with  greater  pleasure. 

Through  years  of  rubbing  elbows  with  drafts- 
men all  over  the  country  I  have  been  enabled  to 
learn  a  host  of  better  ways  of  doing  both  common- 

v. 


S894S6 


place  and  unusual  things.  Many  of  these  methods 
will  be  new  to  readers  while  others  will  as  surely 
be  old,  and  this  book,  a  gathering  of  things 
learned  from  experience  and  chats  "Over  the 
Drawing  Board,"  is  sent  forth  with  the  hope  that 
its  contents  will  help  others  as  it  has  helped  the 
author  and  that  it  will  serve  as  a  good  friend  in 
the  pocket  or  on  the  board. 

B.  J.  L. 

New  York 
December  i3th,  1917 


vi. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I.     Introductory I 

II.     Drafting  Room,  Equipment,  Instruments....     3 

III.  Mounting  of  Paper  and  Drawings 13 

IV.  Tracing  Paper  and  Tracing  Cloth 29 

V.     Geometrical  Short-Cuts    39 

VI.     Lettering,  Titling,  Numbering 54 

VII.     Working  Drawings,  Indication,  Lines 63 

VIII.     Sketches,  Exhibition  Drawings,  Water  Colors, 

Perspective 80 

IX.     Filing  of  Drawings  and  Plates 101 

X.     Photography 108 

XI.  The  Reproductive  Processes,  Photo- 
Engraving,  Etching,  Wood  Engraving, 
Lithography  114 

Index    123 


vil. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIGURE  PAGE 

1.  Mitered  Borders  and  Mats   27 

2.  Mr.    Platt's   Rendering   in    Charcoal,    Quarter 

Size after  32 

3.  Mr.     Platt's     Rendering     in     Charcoal,     Full 

Size    before  33 

4.  Dividing  a  Line  into  Equal  Parts 40 

5.  Elliptical  Arch  by  Approximation 43 

6.  Rake  Ellipse  by  Approximation 45 

7.  Egg-Oval  by  Approximation 47 

8.  Drawing  True  Ellipse  by  String  Method 48 

9.  Drawing  True  Ellipse  by  Straight-Edge  Method  49 

10.  Method  of  Drawing  Plan  of  Scroll  Newel. ...   53 

11.  Method  of  Drawing  Plan  of  Scroll  Newel.  ...   53 

12.  Method  of  Drawing  Plan  of  Scroll  Newel 53 

13.  Guide  Lines  in  Lettering 55 

14.  A  Method  of  Free-Hand  Lettering 56 

15-  Suggestion  for  Form  of  Title  59 

1 6.  Indication  at  Various  Scales 66 

17.  Chart  of  Suggested  Indication  of  Materials.  ...  75 

1 8.  Chart  for  Experiments  in  Color 84 

19.  Diagonals  and  Perspective  Centers 92 

20.  Even  Divisions  in  Perspective 93 

ix. 


FIGURE  PAGE 

21.  Odd  Divisions  in  Perspective 93 

22.  Diagonals  for  Measuring  in  Perspective 94 

23.  Laying  Out  a  Free-Hand  Perspective 96 

24.  Inverting  the  Process  of  Perspective 98 

25.  Pictorial     Photography,     Washington     Square, 

New  York    facing  108 

26.  Pictorial    Photography,    The    Capitol,    Wash- 

ington     facing  109 

27.  "Painting     with     Light,"     Lower     Broadway, 

New  York   facing  1 12 

28.  Detail    Enlargement   of    Part   of   Small    Nega- 

tive     facing  1 1 3 

29.  Half-Tone  Reproduction  of  Etching. ..  .facing  116 

30.  Line-Cut     Reproduction     of     Wood-Engrav- 

ing     facing  1 18 

31.  Half-Tone  Reproduction  of  Lithograph,  .facing  120 


I. 

INTRODUCTORY 

The  administration  of  an  architect's  or  engi- 
neer's office  may  quite  naturally  be  divided,  broad- 
ly, into  two  parts,  which  may  be  called — rather 
inadequately  it  is  feared — the  business  branch  of 
the  office  and  the  drafting  branch. 

Under  the  business  branch  come  all  the  busi- 
ness and  contractual  dealings  of  the  office :  inter- 
views and  agreements  with  clients;  the  framing 
of  contracts;  accounting;  to  some  extent,  super- 
vision; the  keeping  of  records;  correspondence  and 
its  filing.  Architects  are  usually  accused  of  a  lack 
of  business  efficiency,  yet  most  of  the  larger 
architect's  offices  all  over  the  country,  have  model 
business  organizations. 

The  second  branch  has  to  do  with  planning, 
designing,  and  their  study;  preparation  of  the 
documents  with  the  guidance  of  which  structures 
are  built,  or  by  means  of  which  the  architect's  or 
engineer's  ideas  are  presented  to  his  client,  and 
therefore  has  to  do  mostly  with  drawing,  for  it 
is  mainly  with  drawing  and  by  drawings  that 
planning  and  design  are  studied,  that  the  ideas 
of  the  designer  are  conveyed  to  the  craftsman 
who  works  them  out,  that  the  dreams  and  thoughts 


OVER     THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

of  the   designer   are  brought  before  the  client 
for  his  consideration  and  criticism. 

Drawing  is  a  language,  the  oldest  one,  the 
simplest  one  and  the  universal  one,  as  may  be 
seen  by  the  Indian  signs  and  the  hieroglyphics 
of  Egypt.  To  acquire  its  rudiments,  is  a  com- 
paratively easy  task.  Like  every  language,  how- 
ever, drawing  has  its  idioms.  As  a  master  of 
any  language  is  the  master  of  its  idioms,  so  the 
master  draftsman  is  the  master  of  the  idioms 
of  drawing,  and  it  is  hoped,  in  what  follows,  to 
present  at  least  a  few  of  these. 

The  two  branches  overlap  somewhat,  but  as 
far  as  possible,  these  pages  deal  only  with  the 
second  branch,  drafting  room  practice  and  draw- 
ing. 


II. 

DRAFTING  ROOM,  EQUIPMENT, 
INSTRUMENTS 

Instruments  and  Materials 

Most  books  on  drafting  begin  with  a  discus- 
sion of  instruments  and  materials  that  the  student 
should  buy  before  he  begins  work — and  the  list 
is  usually  quite  formidable ! 

Really  excellent  drawings  have  been  made  with 
a  cheap  pencil  and  inexpensive  compass.  The 
excellence  of  the  drawing  was  not  on  account 
of  the  cheap  tools,  to  be  sure,  it  was  rather  in 
spite  of  them,  but  it  only  goes  to  show  that  a 
good  workman  does  not  "quarrel  with  his  tools." 
It  is  pretty  true  that  the  clever  draftsman  is  rarely 
as  fussy  about  instruments,  his  paper  or  his  media 
as  the  poor  one,  who  usually  devotes  much  time 
which  might  better  be  used  for  the  strengthening 
of  his  abilities  as  draftsman,  to  puttering  over  his 
instruments. 

Quality  of  Paper,  Instruments,  and  other  Media 
Of  course,  it  is  not  true  that  quality  in  the 
paper,  instruments  and  other  media  is  of  no  im- 
portance. It  is  of  great  importance,  but  the 
capable  draftsman  who  knows  how,  will  stamp 
the  mark  of  his  ability  on  the  sketch  he  makes 

3 


OVER      THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

on  a  piece  of  strawboard  with  a  lumber  crayon 
while  the  poor  bungling  draftsman  will  make 
a  weak  smudge  with  the  finest  instruments  on 
the  best  sheet  of  paper.  To  be  sure,  it  is  much 
more  pleasant  to  work  on  good  paper,  with  ac- 
curate instruments  and  reliable  tools,  and  the 
beginner,  particularly,  should  not  handicap  him- 
self with  poor  material  and  untrustworthy  tools 
for  although  the  best  tools  and  materials  never  in 
themselves  made  good  drawings,  he  should  have 
no  opportunity  to  blame  poor  results  on  the  quality 
of  tools  or  paper,  but  rather  on  himself  alone. 

As  we  go  along,  tools  and  materials  will  be 
discussed  in  a  broad  way  more  to  guide  the  drafts- 
man's discrimination  when  he  buys  them,  than 
to  give  him  specific  lists  of  things  to  buy.  He 
should  buy  what  he  needs  as  he  needs  it  and  ex- 
perience must  guide  him  to  a  great  extent.  The 
draftsman  should  never  forego  an  opportunity  to 
learn  from  those  around  him,  nearly  every  drafts- 
man has  some  way  of  doing  some  little  thing 
which  is  better  than  the  customary  way.  Keep 
your  eyes  open  and  be  watchful,  "get  acquainted 
with  your  neighbor,  you  might  like  him"  and  he 
may  know  more  than  you  do! 

Drafting  Room 

The  arrangement  of  the  drafting  room,  its 
lighting  and  ventilation  have  a  profound  influence 


DRAFTING     ROOM    AND     EQUIPMENT 

on  the  health  of  the  draftsman  and  consequently 
on  the  quality  of  his  work.  What  is  said  below 
may  be  as  appropriately  applied  to  the  conditions 
around  the  student's  single  drafting  board  in  his 
own  home  as  to  the  large  room  in  the  office  of 
the  architect  or  engineer  who  employs  many  men. 

Ventilation  in  Drafting  Room 

The  room  should  be  well  ventilated — many  a 
headache  caused  by  foul  air  has  been  mistaken 
for  one  caused  by  eyestrain,  under  the  illusion 
that  eye-strain  is  the  most  natural  thing  for  a 
draftsman !  The  ventilation  should  be  such  as  to 
avoid  drafts  and  gusts  of  wind  which  blow  papers 
around  in  an  annoying  way.  Electric  fans, 
although  often  a  very  necessary  evil  and  excel- 
lent for  many  things  such  as  quick  drying  of  paper 
or  ink  lines,  are  a  great  nuisance  in  the  drafting 
room,  nevertheless.  The  patent  sash  ventilating 
devices  are  excellent.  Many  improvised  ones  are 
as  good.  A  five  or  six  inch  board  placed  be- 
tween jambs  of  the  window  and  held  in  place  on 
the  sill  by  the  bottom  rail  of  the  lower  sash,  sepa- 
rates the  meeting-rails  and  gives  efficient  ventila- 
tion in  winter  time  at  practically  no  expense.  To 
keep  the  head  clear  and  the  hand  steady,  there 
must  be  fresh  air  around  the  worker. 

Light  in  Drafting  Room 

Too  much  light  is  as  bad  as  too  little.     The 


OVER      THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

light  should  be  even  and  should  always  come  from 
the  left  side.  One  should  never  work  facing 
the  source  of  light — it  will  speedily  strain  and 
weaken  the  eyes.  There  is  always  considerable 
light  reflected  from  the  drawing.  If  one  faces 
the  window,  this  reflected  light  will  shine  directly 
into  the  eyes,  and  also  whenever  one  looks  up, 
the  glare  of  light  is  met.  This  is  all  very  injuri- 
ous. The  source  of  light,  as  has  been  said,  should 
always  be  at  the  left  side — if  the  worker  is  left- 
handed,  then  the  right  side — so  the  working  edges 
of  instruments  like  the  T-square  and  triangle  will 
be  properly  lighted  and  the  light  will  be  kept  out 
of  the  eyes;  it  should  be  on  the  work  instead. 
The  eyes  should  be  shaded.  There  should  be 
sufficient  light  but  not  too  much  and  direct  sun- 
light should  be  avoided.  Looking  up  from  the 
work  occasionally  is  a  good  habit — it  relieves  the 
strain,  and  the  readjustment  of  the  eye-focus  ex- 
ercises the  eye-muscles  and  prevents  their  stiffen- 
ing. 

Equipment  of  Drafting  Room 

The  furniture  in  the  drafting  room  should  be 
simple  and  strong.  Trestles  and  tables  should 
be  quite  rigid — a  shaky,  wobbly  drawing  board  is 
extremely  annoying.  Some  provision,  such  as  a 
case  of  drawers  or  a  vertical  filing  case,  should 


DRAFTING     ROOM     AND     EQUIPMENT 

be  made  for  keeping  drawings — a  rolled  drawing 
is  an  obstinate  abomination. 
Full-size  Scales  in  Drafting  Room 

Full-size  scales,  horizontal  and  vertical,  marked 
off  on  the  walls  of  the  drafting  room  are  very 
convenient  to  the  draftsman  for  comparative  study 
of  dimensions  on  his  drawings  and  to  show  the 
client  actual  dimensions  of  things. 

Drawing  Tables 

The  proper  height  of  the  drawing  table  de- 
pends entirely  on  the  individual  using  it.  30  inches 
at  front  is  a  good  average.  The  board  should 
be  of  such  height  as  to  enable  the  draftsman  to 
work  on  every  part  of  it  in  comfort.  The  trestle 
or  table  might  well  be  adjustable  in  height  and 
the  top  should  be  so  that  it  can  be  tilted  at  an 
angle  of  ten  to  thirty  degrees  with  the  horizontal, 
if  necessary. 

Drawing  Boards 

The  size  of  the  board  for  ordinary  work  is 
from  30"  x  42"  to  36"  x  48",  the  latter  preferred. 
It  is  well  to  use  the  board  on  a  table  somewhat 
longer  than  itself  so  as  to  leave  a  space  at  the 
right  for  reference  drawings,  instruments  and  so 
on.  A  regular  trestle  with  a  separate  side  table 
is  also  satisfactory.  The  board  itself  should  be 
of  white  pine  with  cleats  on  bottom,  and  preferably 
unfinished,  that  is,  free  from  shellac  or  varnish. 


OVER      THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

The  furnishing  of  the  drafting  room  is  a  great 
deal  a  matter  of  personal  preference  —  suffice  it 
to  say  that  in  the  ideal  drafting  room  there  should 
be  a  convenient,  accessible  place  for  everything 
used  in  the  room  and  everything  should  be  kept 
in  its  place. 

Water  in  Drafting  Room 

Every  drafting  room  should  have  running 
water,  easily  accessible. 


There  should  be  covers  for  the  drafting  tables, 
of  water-proofed  cloth  if  possible,  but  closely 
woven  muslin  or  sheeting  is  excellent. 

T-Squares 

Perhaps  the  best  T-squares  are  those  with 
transparent  edges  and  split  heads  —  one  side 
rigidly  fastened,  the  other  with  a  swivel  so  as  to 
be  adjustable.  T-squares  should  never  be  left 
on  the  board  over  night  —  this  causes  them  to  warp 
and  become  crooked  —  they  should  be  hung  up 
instead.  They  should  never  be  used  for  trimming 
paper  or  as  guides  in  cutting  —  a  cheap  straight 
edge  will  do  as  well  and  will  save  the  square  from 
being  cut  or  nicked. 

Triangles 

Triangles  of  transparent  composition  are  to  be 
preferred,  for  besides  the  great  convenience  of 


DRAFTING    ROOM    AND     EQUIPMENT 

their  transparency,  they  retain  their  edges  and 
accuracy  much  longer  than  wooden  ones. 

Scales 

Scales  should  have  white  edges.  Flat  scales  are 
preferable  to  triangular  ones  and  it  is  better  to 
have  several  scales  for  the  different  graduations 
than  to  try  to  get  everything  on  one  scale.  To 
have  to  turn  and  turn  the  scale  around  every  time 
it  is  picked  up  to  find  the  correct  graduation  is 
very  annoying  and  besides  furnishes  a  chance  for 
serious  error. 

Compasses  and  Dividers 

Compasses  and  dividers  should  be  strong  and 
accurate.  Instrument  catalogs  have  valuable  data 
on  the  merits  of  the  various  forms  of  instruments 
and  their  construction.  When  the  draftsman 
knows  just  what  he  wants  to  do  with  any  particu- 
lar instrument,  he  can  easily  find  several  forms 
for  the  purpose  described  explicitly  in  the  catalog, 
and  can  judge  of  the  merits  for  himself. 

Ruling  Pens 

The  ruling  pen  is  perhaps  the  most  important 
and  most  used  instrument.  It  should  be  of  the 
very  best  quality  even  at  the  sacrifice  of  quality 
in  other  instruments.  It  should  be  of  the  type 
which  may  be  easily  cleaned  carefully  before  put- 
ting away  or  laying  down  for  any  length  of  time. 


OVER      THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

It  needs  sharpening  occasionally  as  the  nibs  wear 
down  with  use. 

Sharpening  of  Ruling  Pens 

Every  draftsman  should  learn  how  to  sharpen 
his  own  pen,  so  that  he  may  always  keep  it  in 
good  condition.  The  best  way  to  learn  the  sharp- 
ening process  is  to  watch  an  expert  do  it  once 
or  twice,  but  a  few  directions  and  practice  on  an 
old  pen  may  help.  First  adjust  the  nibs  so  they 
just  touch.  Then  on  a  fine  carborundum  or  oil 
stone,  run  the  pen  back  and  forth  with  a  side-ways 
rocking  motion  so  as  to  shape  the  nibs  to  a  rather 
pointed  oval.  They  will  now  be  very  dull;  sepa- 
rate the  nibs  and  sharpen  each  one  separately  by 
rubbing  the  outside  with  a  rocking  motion  on 
the  stone  so  that  the  oval  point  is  just  sharp  and 
the  bright  flat  spots  disappear.  The  pen  should 
not  be  sharp  enough  to  cut  the  paper  and  if  it 
becomes  too  sharp  it  may  be  run  back  and  forth 
on  rough  drawing  paper  as  in  first  shaping  the 
points,  until  it  is  slightly  dulled. 

Pencils 

The  choice  of  pens,  pencils,  ink  and  paper  for 
the  different  kinds  of  work  is  discussed  under 
the  various  processes  described.  One  word  about 
pencils,  ink  and  erasers,  however:  the  draftsman 
with  a  good  touch,  the  one  who  puts  real  quality 

10 


DRAFTING    ROOM    AND    EQUIPMENT 

and  feeling  into  his  work,  has  very  little  use 
or  tolerance  for  the  hard  pencil.  Of  course,  the 
hardness  depends  a  great  deal  on  the  surface  of 
the  paper  worked  on  but  rarely  if  ever  will  any- 
thing harder  than  3H  be  needed  and  for  most 
work  softer  ones  are  to  be  preferred. 

Watered  or  Diluted  Ink 

As  to  ink,  we  are  apt  to  overlook  the  possibili- 
ties of  watered  ink,  the  ordinary  Indian  drawing 
ink  thinned  with  water  so  that  it  just  misses  being 
opaque.  It  is  more  easily  used,  flowing  better 
from  the  pen,  erases  easily,  far  more  easily  than 
the  full  black  ink,  and  in  combination  with  black 
ink  doubles  the  possibilities  of  indication  on  line 
drawings.  More  of  its  advantages  will  be  pointed 
out  as  we  go  along. 

Watered  ink  doubles  the  possibility  of  making 
a  blue-print  legible — without  it  there  is  only  the 
variation  in  thickness  or  weight  of  line,  with  it 
we  have  also  the  variation  in  tone  or  distinctness, 
doubling  the  latitude  of  expression  of  every  kind 
of  line. 

Erasers 

The  less  erasing  of  any  kind  there  is  done  on 
a  drawing,  the  better  for  the  drawing,  but 
erasing  must  sometimes  be  done.  For  pencil, 
charcoal  or  crayon,  there  are  erasers  varying  from 

11 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

the  very  soft  "kneaded  rubber"  and  "Art  Gum" 
to  the  hard  rubber  varieties.  The  kind  to  use 
depends  on  the  character  of  the  mark  to  be  erased 
as  well  as  on  the  character  of  the  paper  on  which 
it  is  made.  The  draftsman  should  have  both 
a  soft  and  a  hard  eraser.  For  ink  lines  the  so- 
called  typewriter  eraser  (rubber  charged  with  fine 
emery)  is  excellent.  The  erasing  can  be  advan- 
tageously finished  off  or  cleaned  up  with  a  hard 
pencil  rubber.  A  sharp  knife  is  also  very  useful. 
On  tracing  cloth,  the  new  erasers  made  of  spun 
glass  threads  are  wonderfully  efficient. 

Erasing  Shield 

The  erasing  shield,  a  thin  metal  plate  with 
various  sizes  of  slots  and  openings,  is  an  extremely 
useful  tool.  Its  use  will  suggest  itself  after  a 
brief  acquaintance.  Among  draftsmen  it  is  fam- 
iliarly called  the  "slot-machine"  and  it  often 
proves  itself  a  friend  indeed. 

Light  Rubbing 

In  erasing,  light  rubbing  usually  gives  bettter 
results  than  hard  rubbing.  Ideal  erasing  consists 
in  rubbing  hard  enough  merely  to  remove  the 
mark  from  the  surface  of  the  paper,  which  should 
be  disturbed  as  little  as  possible. 


12 


III. 

MOUNTING  OF  PAPER  AND 
DRAWINGS 

Stretch  Mounting  vs.  Thumbtacks 

When  it  is  attempted  to  make  a  really  good, 
clean-cut  and  accurate  drawing  on  paper  that  is 
merely  thumb-tacked  to  the  board,  the  draftsman 
is  immediately  handicapped  by  many  difficulties, 
the  paper  seems  imbued  with  a  lazy  sort  of  life- 
it  stretches,  it  shrinks,  it  crawls  and  it  misbehaves 
generally.  When  it  is  attempted  to  make  a  tracing 
over  such  a  drawing,  the  tracer  is  doubly  handi- 
capped and  the  results  are  apt  to  be  doubly  in- 
accurate. Thumb-tacks  have  their  place,  of 
course.  Small  drawings  and  rough  drawings  at 
large  scale  that  require  but  a  few  hours  to  com- 
plete may  well  be  made  on  paper  that  is  merely 
tacked  down.  Tracing  linen  is  usually  tacked 
down  because  it  cannot  be  mounted  or  stretched 
on  the  ordinary  board  successfully.  It  is  often 
most  convenient  to  tack  paper  tracings,  but  for  a 
good  working  surface,  for  a  surface  on  which  is 
to  be  made  an  accurate  drawing  of  considerable 
size  and  which  will  take  considerable  time  to  corn- 
is 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

plete,  the  paper  should  be  stretch-mounted  or  else 
it  should  be  mounted  solid  on  heavy  card-board 
or  wall  board. 

Stretch-Mounting,  General 

The  general  process  of  stretch-mounting  paper 
on  a  drawing  board  consists  of;  first,  moistening 
the  paper  so  that  it  swells  and  expands;  second, 
while  the  paper  is  in  this  condition,  sticking  the 
edges  to  the  board  with  thick  strong  paste  so 
that,  third,  on  drying  the  shrinkage  of  the  paper 
will  stretch  it  taut  and  smooth.  This  is  the  general 
process,  but  the  details  are  different  for  different 
kinds  and  qualities  of  paper.  Thin  transparent 
tracing  paper  must  be  handled  quite  differently 
from  the  heavier  opaque  drawing  papers. 

Stretch-Mounting,  Heavy  Paper 

We  shall  begin  with  the  opaque  drawing  papers. 
Cut  to  size  the  sheet  to  be  mounted,  making  the 
edges  straight  and  square.  Now  moisten  the  sur- 
face all  over  to  the  edges  with  a  wet  sponge  and 
allow  to  soak  for  a  minute  or  two  until  the  paper 
is  limp  and  flat.  Moistening  on  both  sides  may 
be  easily  accomplished  by  laying  the  paper  face 
down  on  the  clean  drawing  board  and  moistening 
the  back  first,  letting  the  water  soak  in  for  a 
minute  or  two,  then  turning  the  paper  over  and 
moistening  the  face  side.  Paste  should  be  distri- 

14 


MOUNTING 

buted  rather  thickly,  about  J£  or  l/2  inch  wide  from 
the  edge  all  around  on  the  back.  Higgins'  Draw- 
ing Board  Paste  is  made  especially  for  this  pur- 
pose and  is  excellent.  There  are  various  ways 
of  applying  the  paste  on  the  edge  and  one's  in- 
genuity should  lead  him  to  the  best;  the  edge 
may  be  lifted  and  the  paste  applied  to  the  back, 
or  the  whole  sheet  may  be  reversed  for  the  ap- 
plication. The  edges  of  the  sheet  should  now 
be  rubbed  down  on  the  board — a  putty  knife  or 
wall-scraper  is  an  excellent  tool  for  this  and  it  is 
also  useful  for  cleaning  the  board  later.  When 
the  edges  are  pasted  down  securely,  the  paper 
should  be  allowed  to  dry,  when  it  will  be  found 
taut  and  smooth. 

Stretch-Mounting,  Very  Heavy  Paper 

Different  weight  papers  require  more  or  less 
wetting  and  soaking — the  thicker  and  denser  the 
paper,  the  more  thorough  wetting  is  required. 
Small  sheets  of  heavy  Whatman  or  similar  paper 
may  well  be  soaked  in  a  tray  until  limp,  when  the 
surplus  water  may  be  blotted  off  just  before  past- 
ing. On  very  heavy,  dense  paper,  it  is  well  to 
punch,  before  mounting,  a  few  pin-holes  in  each 
corner  to  allow  the  air  underneath  the  paper  to 
escape  when  the  paper  is  flattening.  Even  5-ply 
bristol  board  may  be  mounted  if  this  precaution 
is  taken. 

15 


OVER     THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

Stretch-Mounting,  Fery  Thin  Paper 

Very  thin  papers  like  tracing  paper  or  bond 
paper  should  be  mounted  dry  and  then  moistened. 
These  are  usually  mounted  over  other  paper  upon 
which  has  been  made  the  drawing  to  be  traced 
or  which  is  merely  used  as  a  ground.  The  paste 
is  applied  thickly  in  a  narrow  band  about  J6"  or 
J^"  wide  on  the  ground  paper  or  on  the  board 
just  ouside  of  it.  A  piece  of  the  paper  to  be 
mounted  is  cut  about  one  inch  larger  than  the 
paste  line  and  rolled  up.  One  end  of  this  roll 
is  then  applied  to  the  line  of  paste  on  the  board 
and  the  paper  is  gradually  unrolled  with  one  hand 
while  the  two  side  edges  are  simultaneously  pasted 
down  with  the  other  hand — always  rubbing  from 
center  to  edge — and  finally  the  end  is  pasted.  After 
setting  a  few  minutes,  the  surface  is  moistened 
with  a  sponge,  carefully,  so  as  not  to  tear  or 
injure  the  paper.  On  drying,  the  shrinkage  will 
have  drawn  the  paper  taut  with  a  delightful  work- 
ing surface.  Thin  soft  drawing  papers  like  char- 
coal paper  may  also  be  easily  mounted  in  this 
way. 

Solid  Mounting  of  Paper 

Many  draftsmen  prefer  making  sketches  and 
rendered  drawings  on  paper  solidly  mounted  on 

16 


MOUNTING 

card-board  or  wall-board.  Many  prefer  making 
the  outline  drawing  on  ordinary  weight  paper  then 
solidly  mounting  this  outline  drawing  on  card- 
board or  wall-board  for  the  rendering.  This 
requires  no  especial  instructions  —  it  is  merely 
pasting  down  one  piece  of  paper  on  another.  A 
rubber  photographic  print-roller  is  very  conveni- 
ent to  bring  the  papers  in  contact,  the  roller 
should  be  used  from  the  center  of  the  sheet  out- 
ward toward  the  edges  and  the  edges  and  corners 
lifted  if  necessary  to  prevent  buckling  and  creas- 
ing, until  the  rolling  is  complete.  The  dryer  and 
stiffer  the  paste  used,  the  less  curling  and  warping 
of  mount  will  result.  Pasting  paper  (not  neces- 
sarily drawing  paper)  on  the  back  of  the  mount 
will  also  keep  the  mount  straight. 

Cleaning   of  Boards   on   Removal   of  Mounted 
Paper 

The  most  serious  objection  to  the  stretching  of 
paper  for  drawing  purposes  is  one  born  of  lazi- 
ness— "it  is  too  much  trouble."  The  cleaning  up 
of  boards  after  removal  of  the  drawing  is  a  mussy 
operation  if  not  done  in  the  right  way  and  has 
contributed  much  to  the  objection.  The  drawing 
is  removed  by  cutting  with  a  knife  just  within  the 
pasted  edge.  All  of  the  pasted  edge  that  can  be 
is  then  torn  away.  The  edges  are  then  wet 
thoroughly  with  a  sponge  and  allowed  to  soak  a 

17 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

few  minutes,  when  the  paper  may  be  easily  scraped 
away  with  a  putty  knife  or  wall-scraper.  The 
use  of  the  putty  knife  or  scraper  will  save  about 
fifteen  minutes  soaking  and  considerable  muss. 
The  board  should  now  be  wiped  off  and  allowed 
to  dry.  Several  boards  may  be  cleaned  in  little 
more  time  than  one  by  allowing  one  to  soak  while 
scraping  the  other  and  so  on. 

Trimming  and  Mounting  Drawings 

After  having  made  a  drawing  to  show  the 
client,  or  for  public  exhibition,  it  is  necessary  to 
trim  it  and  mount  it  properly.  This  is  quite  im- 
portant and  will  either  enhance  or  mar  the  effect. 
The  drawing  may  be  framed  under  glass  or  with- 
out, or  it  may  be  left  entirely  unframed.  It  is 
always  advantageous  to  mount  even  small  sketches 
on  some  support  to  facilitate  their  handling. 
These  need  not  be  permanently  mounted,  how- 
ever, as  will  be  shown  later. 

Sticking  Down  Corners 

Dividing  drawings  into  classes  as  to  the  paper 
on  which  they  are  made,  we  shall  consider,  first 
the  mounting  of  those  made  on  paper  having  con- 
siderable body  and  then  those  made  on  thin  or 
tracing  papers.  The  simplest  way  to  mount  a 
drawing,  if  it  is  not  too  large,  is  to  stick  it  down 
at  its  corners  and  a  point  or  two  between  on  each 

18 


MO  U  N  T  I  N  G 

edge,  on  an  ordinary  piece  of  card-board  or  other 
support  of  suitable  color  and  texture. 

All-Over  Mounting 

The  next  simplest  method  is  all-over  mounting 
on  a  similar  support.  The  drawing  is  trimmed 
properly  and  laid  on  the  mount  in  proper  position 
and  its  corners  lightly  marked  on  the  mount.  The 
drawing  is  then  laid  face  down  on  a  clean  piece 
of  paper  or,  better  yet,  a  clean  sheet  of  glass. 
Rather  thick  paste  is  now  applied  sparingly  and 
evenly  to  the  back  of  the  drawing — many  use  wall- 
paper paste  on  account  of  its  cheapness — and  the 
sheet  is  lifted  carefully  and  placed  on  the  mount 
in  proper  position  according  to  the  corner  marks 
made.  It  should  now  be  covered  with  a  clean 
piece  of  paper  and  rubbed  into  contact  with  the 
hands,  always  beginning  in  the  middle  and  rub- 
bing toward  the  edges,  the  better  way,  however, 
is  to  use  a  photographic  print  roller,  rolling  from 
the  middle  toward  the  edges.  If  too  much  paste 
has  been  used  it  will  ooze  out  from  under  the 
edges  of  the  drawing  but  even  if  the  paste  has 
been  applied  sparingly  it  may  ooze  out  a  little. 
The  surplus  paste  may  be  removed  with  a  damp 
sponge. 

Curling  of  Mount,  Prevention 

Unless  the  mount  is  a  very  heavy  one,  and  the 
paste  used  quite  stiff,  it  will  curl  on  drying.  This 

19 


OVER      THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

curling  may  be  counteracted  very  simply.  It  is 
necessary  only  to  mount  a  piece  of  paper  the 
same  size  as  the  drawing  and  approximately  the 
same  weight,  on  the  back  of  the  mount.  The  curl- 
ing tendency  will  thus  be  balanced  and  the  whole 
will  dry  quite  flat. 

Mounting  on  Stretchers 

The  objection  to  all-over  mounting  is  that  the 
drawing  cannot  be  removed  when  necessary  — 
that  it  must  always  be  kept  with  the  mount, 
which  may.be  rather  bulky,  especially  for  large 
drawings.  There  are  two  ways  of  overcoming 
this  objection.  One  is  to  mount  the  drawing  on 
a  stretcher.  A  stretcher  is  simply  a  light  wooden 
frame  with  muslin  or  sheeting  stretched  and  tacked 
over  the  edges.  The  frame  may  be  made  of  plain 
strips  or  may  be  put  together  of  dovetailed  and 
cleated  strips  made  for  the  purpose  and  which 
may  be  had  in  various  lengths.  After  the  muslin 
is  stretched  and  tacked  on  the  frame  the  draw- 
ing may  be  pasted  just  as  it  was  before.  It  must 
be  laid  face  down  on  a  clean  surface,  however, 
and  rubbed  into  contact  from  the  back.  If  a 
mat  or  border  is  desired,  the  stretcher  must  be 
larger  than  the  drawing  and  then  paper  of  the 
desired  color  may  be  pasted  around  to  form  the 
mat,  this  paper  lapping  over  the  edges  of  the 
drawing  a  little.  Another  way  is  to  mount  the 

20 


MOUNTING 

colored  paper — ingrain  or  oatmeal  wall-paper  is 
excellent — all  over  the  stretcher  and  when  dry, 
to  mount  the  trimmed  drawing  on  this.  Either 
way  allows  the  removal  of  the  drawing,  now 
mounted  on  muslin,  at  any  time  by  simply  remov- 
ing the  tacks  on  the  edges  of  the  frame. 

Mounting  on  Compo-Board 

Beside  the  stretcher  method,  drawings  may  be 
mounted  on  heavy  mat-board,  wall  board  or  best 
of  all,  "compo-board"  so  as  to  be  easily  remov- 
able. This  is  simply  done  by  first  stretch-mount- 
ing a  piece  of  paper  on  the  compo-board  just  as 
we  would  on  the  drawing  board,  pasting  only  the 
edges.  This  paper  should  be  strong  but  not  too 
thick — heavy  tracing  paper  is  excellent.  When 
this  stretched  paper  is  dry  the  drawing  may  be 
mounted  solidly  on  it,  only  keeping  back  from 
the  pasted  edges.  Borders  or  mats  may  now  be 
improvised  as  was  done  for  the  stretcher  and  as 
will  be  more  explicitly  explained  later.  If  at  any 
time  it  is  desired  to  remove  the  drawing  it  is 
only  necessary  to  cut  through  just  within  the 
pasted  edges  of  the  original  stretched  paper  and 
the  whole  will  come  off.  The  mounting  board 
may  be  used  many  times  in  this  way.  These 
methods  are  especially  valuable  in  school  work 
or  when  only  temporary  mounting  for  exhibition 
or  judgment  is  needed. 

21 


OVER     THE     DRAWING      BOARD 

Mounting  Drawings  Made  on  Tracing  Paper 

Tracing  paper  may  be  mounted  by  pasting  the 
corners  and  points  on  the  edges  as  were  heavier 
drawings,  but  being  rather  flimsy  it  is  thus  subject 
to  tearing  and  other  damage.  Tracing-paper  may 
be  mounted  solidly  on  any  paper  or  board  that 
may  be  desirable.  If  the  paper  on  which  it  is 
to  be  mounted  is  rather  light  in  weight — that  is, 
not  card-board — it  should  be  stretched  first  for 
best  results. 

To  one  who  has  never  tried  it  in  the  right 
way,  the  attempt  to  paste  down  solidly  a  piece 
of  tracing  paper,  which  even  when  dry  is  rather 
fragile,  seems  a  hopeless  task.  First,  we  take  a 
sheet  of  glass,  somewhat  larger  than  the  tracing 
we  wish  to  mount,  if  this  is  more  than  eighteen 
Inches,  we  should  have  plate  glass.  Place  the 
tracing  face  down  on  this  sheet  of  glass.  Reduce 
some  clean  white  paste  with  water  to  the  con- 
sistency of  cream.  Apply  the  paste  with  a  good 
brush — a  small  varnish  brush  is  excellent — to  the 
back  of  the  drawing  and  brush  back  and  forth 
until  the  paste  is  thinly  and  evenly  distributed 
and  the  paper  lies  quite  flat.  With  a  damp  sponge 
now  wipe  off  the  surplus  paste  on  the  glass  be- 
yond the  edges  of  the  drawing.  Have  the  mount, 
whether  it  is  paper,  stretched  'or  unstretched, 

22 


MOUNTING 

card-board  or  wall-board,  ready  on  a  table.  Now 
lift  the  sheet  of  glass  with  the  drawing  on  it — 
enough  paste  will  have  worked  just  under  the 
edges  to  make  the  drawing  adhere  temporarily 
to  the  glass — and  place,  drawing  first,  in  correct 
position  on  the  mount.  Press  the  glass  down 
so  as  to  bring  the  drawing  into  more  or  less 
contact.  The  glass  may  now  be  lifted  off, 
leaving  the  drawing  on  the  mount.  It  should 
be  rolled  into  perfect  contact  with  a  photographic 
print  roller  as  directed  before  for  other  mounting, 
rolling  from  the  center  to  the  edges,  using  clean 
paper  or  blotting  paper  under  the  roller.  Any 
surplus  paste  at  the  edges  may  be  removed  with 
a  damp  sponge. 

Advantages  of  Mounted  Tracings 

Tracings  mounted  in  this  way  may  be  handled 
and  exhibited  with  the  same  ease  and  with  the 
same  resistence  to  wear  and  tear  as  drawings 
made  on  heavy  papers,  but  give  the  draftsman 
all  the  advantage  of  having  been  made  on  tracing 
paper. 

Demounting  Tracings 

Tracings  mounted  solidly  are  usually  considered 
permanently  so,  but  with  patience  and  care  they 
may  be  removed  from  the  mounts,  although  it  is 
rather  a  delicate  undertaking.  The  tracing  should 

23 


OVER     THE      DRAWING     BOARD 

be  moistened  with  a  damp  sponge  until  the  tracing 
paper  is  quite  moist,  then  by  beginning  at  one 
corner  and  using  great  care  it  may  be  pulled  off 
the  mount.  It  is  not  advisable  to  try  this  for  the 
first  time  if  the  tracing  is  valuable  and  must  be 
preserved.  If  only  the  re-use  of  the  mount  is  de- 
sired, tearing  the  tracing  is  of  no  moment. 

Stretch-Mounting  Tracings 

The  method  of  stretch-mounting  tracing  paper 
for  drawing  purposes  has  already  been  described. 
In  a  similar  way  a  tracing  may  be  mounted  for 
exhibition.  The  properly  trimmed  tracing  is  laid 
on  the  mount  and  the  edges  are  marked.  A 
narrow  band  of  paste  is  now  applied  just  within 
the  line  on  the  mount  marking  the  edges  of  the 
tracing  and  the  edges  of  this  are  now  rubbed 
down.  If  the  paste  is  applied  one  edge  at  the 
time  and  the  rubbing  done  from  center  of  sheet 
toward  edge,  there  will  be  less  liability  to  form 
wrinkles  and  creases.  After  the  edges  are  all 
pasted,  the  surface  of  the  tracing  should  be 
dampened,  if  possible,  with  a  sponge  or  wet  blotter 
and  on  drying  it  will  be  found  stretched  smooth 
and  tight.  It  will  look  quite  presentable  without 
dampening  and  stretching,  however,  if  this  is  im- 
practical. 

Ordinary  paper  drawings  may  be  mounted  in 
the  same  way  if  the  paper  is  not  too  heavy.  They 

24 


MOUNTING 

may  be  dampened  on  the  back  before  pasting  if 
it  is  dangerous  to  wet  the  face. 

Modification  by  Color  of  Mount 

The  appearance  of  a  drawing  on  tracing  paper 
may  be  changed  considerably  by  the  color  of  the 
surface  upon  which  it  is  mounted.  It  may  be 
warmed  considerably  by  mounting  on  buff  or  even 
yellow  paper.  It  may  be  subdued  by  mounting 
on  gray  paper.  Experiments  in  this  direction  are 
well  worth  while. 

Tinted  Glass 

Some  interesting  results  can  be  had  by  framing 
drawings  under  tinted  glass. 

Borders  and  Mats 

It  is  often  necessary  to  put  a  border  or  mat 
on  a  drawing.  The  simplest  way  to  do  this  is  to 
take  a  piece  of  paper  or  mat  board  the  outside 
size  necessary  and  cut  an  opening  in  it  the  size 
of  the  picture,  and  pasting  this  down  in  the  proper 
place.  Draw  the  outline  of  the  opening  necessary 
and  whenever  possible  cut  through  the  mat  in  one 
cutting.  A  well  sharpened,  sturdy  knife  is  best 
for  the  purpose.  There  are  excellent  special  mat- 
cutting  knives  on  the  market. 

It  is  often  impractical  to  use  the  cut  out  mat 
on  a  drawing.  Mat  board  is  limited  in  size  and 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

therefore  sometimes  it  is  not  large  enough.  Again 
it  may  not  be  possible  to  use  it  on  account  of 
the  character  of  the  mount  used  and  it  may  be 
that  thin  paper  of  more  desirable  color  or  texture 
is  wanted. 

Mitered  Borders  and  Mats 

It  is  quite  easy  to  apply  a  mitered  border  or 
mat  made  of  strips  of  paper.  Cut  four  strips  of 
paper  the  length  of  the  edges  of  the  mount  and 
about  two  inches  wider  than  the  desired  mat  or 
border.  Apply  paste  on  the  back  of  one  of  these 
strips  and  stick  down  meeting  the  border  line  of 
the  drawing  with  one  edge  and  folding  the  other 
edge  over  the  edge  of  the  mount  and  pasting  it 
to  the  back.  Now  cover  the  corner  of  this  strip  a 
little  more  than  its  own  width  from  the  corner 
of  the  mount  with  any  sort  of  paper,  a  piece  of 
newspaper  will  do,  and  quickly  paste  the  adjoining 
strip  of  border  on  as  before.  With  a  sharp  knife 
now  cut  through  from  inside  corner  of  border 
strips  to  outside  corner  of  mount,  cutting  clear 
through  to  the  mount.  Now  by  lifting  the  ends 
of  the  two  border  strips  and  removing  the  news- 
paper cover  and  the  superfluous  triangles  of  paper 
and  again  pasting  down  the  ends,  we  have  a  per- 
fect, almost  invisible  mitering  of  the  strips.  The 
newspaper  was  used  merely  to  avoid  soiling  the 
first  strip  with  the  pasted  end  of  the  second. 


MOUNTING 

Figure   i   will  make  the  stages  of  this  process 
clearer,  perhaps. 


IST  BORDER.  STRIP 


MITER.     CUT 


Figure  i 
Mitered  Borders  and  Mats 

The  other  corners  should  be  done  the  same 
way.  All  this  should  be  done  quickly  so  that  the 
paste  does  not  dry  at  any  place  where  the  paper 
has  to  be  lifted  in  order  to  remove  the  surplus. 
To  expedite  matters,  everything  should  be  gotten 
in  readiness  before  beginning  the  application  of 
any  of  the  strips. 

Applied  Bands 

It  is  often  advantageous  to  separate  the  draw- 
ing from  the  mount  by  a  band  of  gold  or  silver 
or  black.  This  may  be  done  by  using  sheet-paper 

27 


OVER     THE      DRAWING     BOARD 

cut  into  strips  or  by  using  narrow  passe-partout 
paper  and  pasting  it  on.  Ragged  edges  on  the 
drawing  may  be  covered  up  and  the  whole  thing 
given  a  finished  appearance  by  this  kind  of  an 
applied  band.  The  gold  band  is  especially  effica- 
cious, for  gold  harmonizes  with  all  colors. 


IV. 

TRACING  PAPER  AND  TRACING 
CLOTH 

Tracing  Paper,  General  Uses 

No  one  thing  that  the  draftsman  employs  is  so 
widely  useful  as  tracing  paper.  Upon  it  may  be 
made  the  whole  gamut  of  drawing  from  the  merest 
"short-hand"  sketch  to  the  most  finished  render- 
ing and  working  drawing.  As  a  help  in  drafting, 
such  as  transferring,  "frothing"  and  so  on,  its 
uses  are  well  nigh  unlimited.  One  can  almost 
judge  the  ability  and  efficiency  of  a  draftsman  by 
the  methods  and  extent  of  his  using  tracing  paper. 

Tracing  Paper  in  Studying 

For  studying  or  developing  a  design  or  plan 
or  detail,  nothing  is  as  convenient  or  useful  as  thin 
transparent  paper  with  a  good  tooth  or  surface 
for  pencil.  The  draftsman  can  use  layer  upon 
layer  of  the  paper,  each  successive  layer  showing 
a  new  development,  and  at  any  stage  of  the  work 
he  can  lay  out  before  him  all  the  progressive 
studies.  He  may  discover  that  at  a  certain  point 
he  wandered  off  on  a  tangent  and  that  his  six- 
teenth sketch  is  not  as  promising  as  his  ninth,  say. 

29 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

All  he  has  to  do  is  to  begin  again  at  his  ninth 
sketch  and  try  a  new  path  of  development.  There 
is  a  wonderful  fascination  about  this.  There  is 
a  wonderful  interest  in  a  group  of  such  sketches 
—  they  present  an  intensely  human  and  graphic 
history  of  whatever  one  was  studying.  Now  for 
the  mechanical  details — the  "modus  operandi." 

Tracing  Paper,  How  to  Use  in  Studying 

To  begin  with,  a  substantial  piece  of  paper 
should  be  stretched  on  the  board  and  on  this  paper 
should  be  outlined  in  strong  lines  the  fixed  general 
dimensions,  axes  if  any,  and  all  important  and 
mandatory  lines  of  what  is  to  be  drawn  or  de- 
signed. Now  on  tracing  paper  over  this  skeleton 
one  proceeds  —  mostly  free  hand  —  with  a  soft 
pencil,  crayon  or  charcoal,  to  sketch  and  study 
to  his  heart's  content.  The  tracing  paper  may  be 
tacked  over  the  stretched  paper,  it  may  be  pasted 
at  the  corners  or  it  may  be  stretch-mounted. 
Short  Rolls  of  Tracing  Paper 

The  draftsmen  should  have  at  hand  a  generous 
supply  of  pieces  of  paper  cut  to  size,  or  what  is 
still  more  convenient,  a  narrow  roll  of  paper 
sawed  off  from  the  regular  roll.  A  36"  or  40" 
roll  sawed  into  three  equal  lengths  is  very  con- 
venient or  a  36"  roll  cut  into  10",  12"  and 
14"  lengths  is  useful.  From  these,  pieces  of  the 
right  length  may  be  easily  torn  by  holding  a 

30 


TRACING     PAPER      AND      CLOTH 

straight-edge,  T-square  or  triangle,  at  the  right 
point  and  tearing  away  the  paper. 

Rendering  on  Tracing  Paper 

Sketches  on  tracing  paper  may  be  rendered  in 
soft  pencil  or  pen  and  ink;  if  the  paper  is  stretched, 
they  may  be  tinted  in  water  color.  Beautifully 
soft  sketches  may  be  made  by  rendering  in  soft 
pencil  and  then  tinting  rather  broadly  on  the 
back  of  the  tracing  paper  with  colored  crayons. 
By  laying  the  drawing  face  down  on  clean  paper 
the  outline  or  pencil  rendering  is  strongly  visible 
as  a  guide  to  the  tinting.  Further  interesting 
effects  may  be  had  by  mounting  these  finished  trac- 
ing paper  sketches  on  tinted  papers. 

Perspectives  Rendered  on  Tracing  Paper 

In  making  rendered  perspectives  it  is  of  great 
advantage  to  do  the  rendering  on  tracing  paper. 
The  outline  perspective  may  be  made  on  any  good 
paper  and  as  completely  as  wanted.  Tracing 
paper  may  now  be  stretched  or  tacked  over  this 
outline  and  the  rendering  made  as  freely  as  the 
draftsman  desires  with  the  assurance  that  no  frag- 
ments of  outline  or  working  lines  will  disturb 
his  finished  drawing  and  that  no  cleaning  will  be 
necessary. 

Mr.  Plarfs  Charcoal  Drawings 

Mr.  Charles  A.  Platt's  rendered  drawings  in 

31 


OVER     THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

charcoal  on  Manilla  tracing  paper  are  in  a  class 
by  themselves.  They  are  made  simply  and  quickly 
by  working  over  an  outline  drawing  on  detail 
paper.  The  shades  and  shadows  are  then  put  in 
with  charcoal  on  the  manilla  tracing  paper 
stretched  over  the  outline  drawing.  The  edges 
are  all  drawn  mechanically  with  aid  of  T-square 
and  triangle.  Stumps  and  chamois  are  used  for 
blending  the  charcoal.  The  results  are  wonder- 
fully realistic,  almost  photographic  drawings 
that  are  nearly  as  valuable  as  models  in  study- 
ing details.  Figure  2  shows  a  part  of  one 
of  these  drawings  reproduced  at  one-fourth 
the  scale  of  the  original,  while  Figure  3  shows 
a  detail  of  the  same  drawing  reproduced  full  size. 

"Squared"  or  Cross-Section  Paper  in  Sketching  or 
Measured  Drawing 

In  sketching  and  preliminary  studying, 
"squared"  or  cross-section  paper  may  be  used  to 
great  advantage.  This  paper  is  faintly  ruled  in 
squares  of  eighths  or  tenths  of  an  inch.  These 
squares  may  be  assumed  to  represent  any  dimen- 
sion and  the  free-hand  sketch  so  made  approxi- 
mately to  scale.  The  same  result  may  be  attained 
by  using  thin  tracing  paper  over  the  "squared" 
paper. 

For  free-hand  drawing  preliminary  to  measured 
drawings  of  existing  work,  "squared"  paper  is 

32 


Figure  a 

Mr.  Platt's  Rendering  in  Charcoal, 
Quarter  Size  Reproduction 


Figure  3 

Mr.  Platt's  Rendering  in  Charcoal, 
Full    Size    Reproduction 


TRACING     PAPER     AND     CLOTH 

very  useful  as  it  enables  the  draftsman  to  make 
his  free-hand  sketch  approximately  to  scale  and 
in  proper  proportion  both  easily  and  quickly.  The 
ruled  lines  also  serve  as  guides  for  the  drawn  ones. 

"Squaring"  in  Copying 

In  copying  or  reproducing  a  drawing  at  differ- 
ent scale,  "squaring"  is  a  useful  device.  The 
drawing  to  be  reproduced  is  either  ruled  into  small 
squares  or  covered  with  a  piece  of  transparent 
tracing  cloth  so  ruled.  The  paper  on  which  the 
drawing  is  to  be  reproduced  is  now  ruled  lightly 
into  squares  bearing  the  same  ratio  to  the  squares 
on  the  original  as  the  scale  of  the  reproduction 
bears  to  the  scale  of  the  original.  By  noting  the 
intersections  of  the  lines  of  the  original  drawing 
with  the  ruled  lines  on  it  and  properly  placing 
these  intersections  on  the  reproduction,  it  may  be 
easily  and  accurately  made  to  any  scale.  This  is 
most  useful  in  pictorial  drawing  and  the  drawing 
of  ornament. 

Tracing  Paper  vs.  Cloth 

Tracing  paper  plays  or  may  play  a  very  im- 
portant part  in  the  preparation  of  working  draw- 
ings as  we  shall  see  later.  Many  draftsmen 
especially  the  older  ones,  do  not  begin  to  realize 
its  many  possibilities.  Although  it  has  not  the 
strength  or  wearing  and  handling  possibilities  of 
tracing  linen  or  cloth  nor  the  resistence  to  erasure, 

33 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

it  presents  a  much  pleasanter  surface  on  which  to 
work,  behaves  much  better  on  the  board,  it  may 
be  easily  stretched  and  mounted  and  is  withal 
much  cheaper,  ranging  from  i/io  to  y*  the  cost 
of  the  cloth. 

Transferring  with  Tracing  Paper 

Tracing  paper  is  very  useful  as  an  auxiliary 
to  drawing  on  other  paper  —  in  transferring  or 
"frothing."  By  its  use  the  whole  or  any  part  of 
a  drawing  may  be  reproduced,  without  actual  re- 
drawing, on  the  same  or  any  other  sheet  of  paper. 
A  drawing  may  be  carefully  studied  on  tracing 
paper  and  the  final  result  transferred  to  a  clean 
sheet  of  paper  for  inking-in  or  rendering  without 
actual  redrawing.  For  small  details  such  as  the 
profile  of  a  moulding,  the  transferring  process  is 
the  more  convenient.  The  outline  is  simply  traced 
with  a  soft  pencil  on  a  piece  of  thin  tracing  paper. 
This  traced  outline  is  then  gone  over  with  a  soft 
pencil  on  the  back  of  the  tracing  paper  (if  the 
outline  is  symmetrical  this  second  tracing  is  un- 
necessary) .  By  placing  this  tracing  in  the  proper 
position  on  the  drawing  paper  and  going  over  the 
outline  with  a  pencil,  the  design  will  be  found  dis- 
tinctly transferred  to  the  paper. 

"Frothing"  with  Tracing  Paper 

More  elaborate  and  larger  drawings  are  more 

34 


TRACING     PAPER     AND     CLOTH 

easily  transferred  by  the  "frothing"  process.  We 
shall  assume  that  we  have  a  drawing  on  tracing 
paper  which  we  wish  to  transfer  to  water-color 
paper — if  it  isn't  on  tracing  paper  we  can  easily 
make  such  a  tracing.  The  tracing  should  be  with 
rather  strong  lines  and  made  with  soft  pencil. 
If  the  drawing  is  symmetrical  this  is  all  that  is 
necessary,  if  not  symmetrical  then  we  must  make 
a  reversed  tracing  of  it  on  the  back  of  the  original 
tracing  or  on  another  sheet.  The  latter  tracing 
should  then  be  put  in  the  proper  place  on  the 
blank  sheet  of  paper,  pencil  lines  down.  The  trac- 
ing may  be  held  in  position  by  thumb-tacks  or,  if 
the  tack  holes  are  objectionable,  by  slight  touches 
of  paste  in  the  corners,  the  paste  being  easily  re- 
moved later  with  a  damp  sponge.  Over  this  trac- 
ing must  be  laid  a  clean  sheet  of  tracing  paper  or 
better  yet,  tracing  linen,  and  the  whole  rubbed,  us- 
ing considerable  pressure,  with  some  smooth 
rounded  object  like  a  round  edged  glass  or  marble 
paper  weight,  the  rounded  handle  of  a  pocket  knife 
or  some  similar  object.  After  the  whole  has  been 
gone  over  carefully  and  the  tracing  removed,  the 
drawing  will  be  found  distinctly  transferred  to 
the  paper  and  may  now  be  inked  in  or  pencilled 
in.  This  process  is  not  nearly  as  formidable  as  it 
sounds,  is  a  great  time  saver  and  really  very  con- 
venient and  useful. 

35 


OVER      THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

Tracing  Linen  or  Cloth 

Tracing  linen  or  cloth  is  exceedingly  useful 
material  to  the  draftsman  and  it  is  perhaps  un- 
grateful to  say  anything  disparaging  about  it 
though  it  has  many  peculiarities  that  give  its  users 
constant  grief.  Its  surface  is  rather  difficult  to 
work  on,  it  rebels  violently  at  moisture  and  even 
a  damp  atmosphere  will  cause  it  to  cut  all  sorts 
of  capers.  It  is  very  strong  however,  quite  trans- 
parent, stands  much  erasure,  and  can  be  cleaned 
easily  with  benzine  or  gasoline. 

Function  of  the  Tracing 

For  the  preparation  of  the  transparency  or 
tracing  from  which  blue  prints  are  to  be  made, 
tracing  cloth  is  still  the  most  popular  and  most 
widely  used  material.  Tracing  paper  is  supplant- 
ing it  however  and  will  probably  do  so  more 
and  more  as  the  years  go  by.  In  the  old  days 
before  the  blue  printing  process  was  commercial- 
ized, the  original  drawings  on  paper  were  care- 
fully inked  in  and  finished  on  paper  for  the  office 
set  and  one  or  more  sets  were  then  made  on  trac- 
ing cloth  to  be  used  on  the  work.  Then  the 
tracings  were  in  themselves  the  end,  now  tracings 
are  merely  the  means  to  the  end,  the  blue  print. 
This  has  greatly  changed  the  process  of  drafts- 
manship and  has  lessened  the  necessity  and  de- 
sirability of  using  cloth. 


TRACING      PAPER      AND      CLOTH 

Handling  of  Tracing  Cloth 

There  are  a  few  things  to  know  about  working 
on  tracing  cloth  which  make  its  use  much  pleas- 
anter  and  which  make  the  work  much  more 
efficient.  A  piece  of  tracing  cloth  should  be 
stretched  as  firmly  as  it  is  possible  to  do  so  with 
thumb-tacks.  One  corner  should  first  be  tacked 
down,  stretching  the  edges  with  the  palm  of  the 
hand  towards  the  next  tack  to  be  put  in.  Folding 
the  corners  about  j£"  prevents  tearing  of  the 
cloth  at  the  tack  hole.  Long  edges  should  have 
one  or  more  intermediate  tacks.  In  damp  or 
humid  weather  it  is  well  to  tack  down  the  cloth, 
stretching  it  as  tightly  as  possible,  and  leave  it 
for  an  hour  or  more  without  working  on  it.  It 
will  then  be  found  considerably  expanded  and 
buckled  up.  If  it  is  now  stretched  out  and  re- 
tacked  it  will  stay  in  place  much  better. 
Powdering  Surface  of  Cloth 

The  architect  usually  uses  the  dull  side  of  the 
cloth  and  it  is  much  to  be  preferred  for  it  takes 
pencil  well  and  erasures  on  it  do  not  remove  the 
glazing  varnish.  This  surface,  however,  as  it 
comes  from  the  factory  seems  slightly  greasy  and 
does  not  take  ink  well.  It  should  be  rubbed  lightly 
with  precipitated  chalk,  flour  of  pumice  or  the 
prepared  powder  sold  for  the, purpose^- the  latter 
being  preferabter — ThV~surface  thus  rubbed  will 
take  ink  perfectly. 

37 


OVER     THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

Tacking  Tracings  to  be  Left  Over  Night 

On  drawings  which  take  considerable  time  to 
trace  and  where  the  uncompleted  tracing  must  be 
left  on  the  board  for  any  length  of  time,  as  over 
night,  if  the  tracing  is  left  fastened  down  at  the 
corners,  the  next  morning  is  apt  to  find  it  all 
buckled  up.  It  will  be  well  nigh  impossible  to 
register  the  tracing  accurately  over  the  drawing. 
Especially  will  this  be  true  if  the  weather  turns 
damp  in  the  interval.  All  this  may  be  easily 
avoided  by  simply  putting  a  thumb-tack  in  the 
center  of  each  edge  of  the  cloth,  then  removing 
all  other  thumb-tacks.  The  tracing  will  be  found 
to  have  held  its  place  perfectly  in  register  and 
no  buckling  will  be  in  evidence.  The  corner  tacks 
may  be  replaced  and  the  work  continued.  In 
fact,  it  is  better  to  work  on  tracing  cloth  with 
tacks  in  the  centers  of  the  edges  only  if  possible, 
but  for  large  sheets  this  is  not  convenient. 

This  peculiarity  of  tracing  cloth  is  due  to  its 
weave.  When  the  tacks  are  in  the  corners  there 
is  no  resistance  to  pulling,  the  little  squares  of 
the  mesh  rack  in  any  direction  upon  expansion  of 
the  cloth  by  the  absorption  of  dampness.  When 
the  tacks  are  in  the  center  of  the  edges,  however, 
pull  and  movement  are  resisted  by  the  threads 
themselves. 


38 


V. 
GEOMETRICAL  SHORT-CUTS 

Value  of  Geometry 

Any  draftsman  who  is  not  familiar  with  Plane 
and  Descriptive  Geometry  is  seriously  handi- 
capped in  the  making  of  mechanical  drawings. 
The  fact  is  that  most  draftsmen  are  familiar  with 
these  subjects  to  some  extent  and  do  not  know  it 
simply  because  they  have  not  studied  them  in  the 
abstract.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  all  problems  in 
drawing  involving  the  construction  of  angles  and 
curves  and  projection, — and  nearly  all  do — and 
all  the  problems  of  perspective,  shades  and  shad- 
ows and  stereotomy  are  based  on  Plane  and  De- 
scriptive Geometry.  If  the  draftsman  is  not 
familiar  with  these  subjects  and  has  a  liking  for 
mathematics,  he  can  acquire  them  by  home  study, 
and  the  time  will  be  well  spent.  To  the  student  of 
Geometry  many  short-cuts  in  laying  out  his  draw- 
ing will  occur. 

Dividing  a  Line  into  Equal  Parts 

Any  line  may  be  divided  into  any  number  of 
equal  parts  with  a  scale  or  rule  quickly  and  ac- 

39 


OVER      THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

curately.  (Figure  4).  In  Figure  4,  let  A-B  be 
the  line  which  it  is  desired  to  divide  in,  say,  seven 
equal  parts.  At  B  draw  a  line  B-C  with  the 
triangle  or  T-square,  as  necessary,  to  make  an 
angle  with  A-B.  With  the  zero  point  of  any 
convenient  scale  at  A,  swing  the  scale  until  the 
proper  division  point,  in  this  case  the  seventh, 


Figure  4 
Dividing    a    Line   into   Equal    Parts 

(any  multiple  of  the  seventh  would  do  as  well,  of 
course)  is  on  the  line  B-C,  mark  the  division  points 
off  on  the  paper  and  through  these  points  draw 
lines  with  the  triangle  or  T-square  parallel  to 
B-C.  These  parallel  lines  will  intersect  A-B  at 
equal  distances  and  in  number  as  laid  off  by  scale. 

40 


GEOMETRICAL       SHORT-CUTS 

Laying-Of  Equal  Distances 

This  method  is  extremely  useful  in  laying  off 
equal  distances  like  stair  treads  for  example,  which 
should  not  be  laid  off  successively  by  scaling  each 
one.  Besides  being  laborious,  this  is  very  in- 
accurate. The  total  distance  occupied  by  the 
equal  divisions  should  be  laid  off  and  then  divided 
into  the  required  number  of  equal  parts.  If  10 
treads  of  n"  each  are  to  be  drawn,  the  distance, 
no  inches,  is  to  be  laid  off  and  then  divided  into 
ten  equal  parts. 

30°-60°,  45°  and  Adjustable  Triangles 

It  will  pay  the  draftsman  to  experiment  with 
his  3O°-6o°  triangles  in  the  drawing  of  equilateral 
triangles,  hexagons  and  so  on.  The  combined  use 
of  the  3O°-6o°  and  45°  triangles  will  give  many 
useful  angles.  There  is  also  an  adjustable  triangle 
on  the  market  which  is  very  useful.  Its  right  angle 
is  rigid  but  the  sloping  edge  is  adjustable  to  any 
angle.  Being  reversible  the  use  of  this  triangle  in 
drawing  roof  slopes  and  other  such  lines  is  prac- 
tically unlimited.  It  is  also  very  advantageous 
to  use  the  45°  triangle  with  its  hypothenuse  next 
the  T-square.  This  gives  a  45°  line,  sloping  either 
way  and  saves  much  reversing  of  the  instrument. 

Ellipse  and  Oval 

The   ellipse   and  the   egg-oval   are   constantly 

41 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

recurring  curves,  especially  in  architectural  draw- 
ings, yet  few  draftsmen  know  how  to  draw  either 
one  correctly,  or  approximately  with  the  compasses. 
Both  the  ellipse  and  the  egg-oval  may  be  closely 
approximated  with  a  pleasing  curve  drawn  with 
the  compasses  and  although  in  laying  out  the  work 
actual  size  the  curves  should  be  drawn  with  mathe- 
matical exactness,  the  approximate  curve  suffices 
very  well  on  scale  drawings  and  is  the  most  prac- 
tical to  use  on  these. 

Tangency  of  Arcs 

If  a  law  of  the  tangency  of  circles  with  each 
other  and  with  straight  lines  is  remembered  almost 
any  curve  may  be  approximated  by  combining 
tangent  arcs.  If  two  circular  arcs  are  tangent, 
the  point  of  tangency  and  the  centers  of  both  arcs 
must  lie  on  the  same  straight  line  and  if  an  arc 
~6T  a  circle  is  tangent  to  a  straight  line,  the  point 
of  tangency  and  the  center  of  the  arc  must  lie 
in  a  line  perpendicular  to  the  original  straight 
line  at  the  point  of  tangency.  Bearing  these 
conditions  in  mind  arcs  may  be  combined  at  will  to 
approximate  any  curve. 

Figures  5,  6  and  7  give  methods  of  drawing 
approximations  of  ellipses  and  ovals  with  the 
compass,  using  three  or  more  centers  and  com- 
bining the  arcs  of  curves. 

42 


GEOMETRICAL       SHORT-CUTS 

Elliptical  Arch  by  Approximation 

In  Fig.  5  is  given  a  very  useful  method  of 
approximating  an  elliptical  arch  or  semi-ellipse 
(of  course  the  whole  ellipse  may  be  just  as  readily 
drawn).  This  method  gives  a  pleasing  curve  and 
a  very  close  approximation  of  a  true  ellipse. 


Figure  5 
Elliptical  Arch  by  Approximation 

In  Fig.  5,  AC  is  half  the  major  diameter  and 
BC  half  the  minor  diameter  of  the  arch.  Draw 
the  line  AB.  Lay  off  BM  from  B  equal  to  AC 
less  CB.  NO  bisects  AM  and  is  drawn  perpen- 
dicular to  it  and  gives  P,  the  center  of  the  arc 
AN,  at  its  intersection  with  AC,  and  O,  the  center 
of  the  arc  NB — ,  at  its  intersection  with  BC 
continued. 

43 


OVER      THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

Draw  the  arc  AN  with  P  as  center  and  PA  as 
radius  and  the  arc  NB  with  O  as  center  and  ON 
as  radius. 

Proof 

To  show  that  OB  equals  ON  requires  too  long 
a  proof  and  must  here  be  taken  for  granted  but 
it  is  easy  to  show  that  the  laws  of  tangency  are 
obeyed.  The  arc  AN  is  tangent  to  EA  at  A  be- 
cause A,  the  point  of  tangency  and  P,  the  center 
are  in  AP,  perpendicular  to  EA  at  A.  The  arcs 
AN  and  NB  are  tangent  at  N  because  N,  the 
point  of  tangency,  P,  the  center  of  AN,  and  O, 
the  center  of  NB,  are  in  the  same  straight  line. 
NB  is  tangent  to  EB  at  B  because  B,  the  point 
of  tangency  and  O  the  center  of  the  arc  are  in 
BO  perpendicular  to  EB  at  B. 

Rake  Ellipse  by  Approximation 

In  Fig.  6  an  approximate  elliptical  arch  is 
drawn  on  the  rake,  as  it  might  occur  under  a 
flight  of  stairs.  The  rake  line  ACD  is  the  rake 
major  diameter  of  the  curve  and  the  vertical  line 
BC  half  the  minor  diameter.  BC  is  in  the  center 
between  EA  and  E'D. 

We  should  now  sketch  free  hand,  a  curve 
tangent  to  EA  at  A,  to  EE'  at  B  and  to  E'D  at  D. 

Now  draw  line  AP  perpendicular  to  EA  at 
A  and  on  this  line  locate,  by  trial,  point  P  which 

44 


GEOMETRICAL       SHORT-CUTS 


Figure  6 
Rake  Ellipse  by  Approximation 

may  be  used  as  center  with  AP  as  radius  in  de- 
scribing arc  AN,  fitting  closely  the  sketched  in 
curve. 

Next,  at  B  draw  a  line  BO'  perpendicular  to 
EB. 

Lay  off  BB'  equal  to  AP,  and  draw  MO  bi- 
secting PB'  and  perpendicular  to  it. 

45 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

MO  will  intersect  BO'  at  O.  Draw  OPN 
through  O  and  P  giving  the  point  of  tangency,  N, 
on  the  arc  AN.  Draw  arc  NB  with  O  as  center 
and  OB  as  radius. 

Next  draw  P'D  perpendicular  to  E'D  at  D 
and  locate  P'  by  trial  so  that  the  arc  N'D  drawn 
with  P'  as  center  and  P'D  as  radius  fits  closely 
this  part  of  sketched  in  curve. 

As  before,  lay  off  BB"  equal  to  PD  and  find 
where  the  perpendicular  bisector  of  B"P',  N"O', 
cuts  BO'  at  O'. 

Draw  O'P' — through  N',  the  point  of  tangency 
on  N'D  and  draw  arc  BN'  with  O'  as  center  and 
O'N'  as  radius. 

This  completes  the  curve  and  it  is  obvious  that 
the  laws  of  tangency  have  been  followed  and  that 
when  these  are  thoroughly  understood  any  curve 
may  be  approximated  by  a  combination  of  arcs. 

Egg-Oval  by  Approximation 

Figure  7  shows  an  egg-oval,  whose  extreme 
diameters,  AB  and  CD,  are  given,  constructed 
of  arcs.  AP  is  made  equal  to  one  half  CD,  and 
CD  then  drawn  perpendicular  to  AB  at  P. 

Draw  the  semi-circle  CAD.  Lay  off  OB  on 
AB,  less  than  AP.  The  variation  of  OB  deter- 
mines the  shape  of  the  oval,  the  shorter  it  is,  the 
more  pointed  the  oval  becomes. 

46 


GEOMETRICAL      SHORT-CUTS 

Draw  a  circle  with  O  as  center  and  OB  as 
radius. 

Draw  OD'  parallel  to  OPD  intersecting  the 
smaller  circle  at  D'. 


Figure  7 
Egg-Oval   by  Approximation 

Draw  DD'  through  to  M  on  the  smaller  circle. 

Draw  MON  to  N  on  CD  continued. 

Draw  an  arc  with  N  as  center  and  ND  or  NM 
as  radius,  on  each  side.  This  completes  the  oval. 

All  the  laws  of  tangency  have  been  observed 
and  the  geometrical  proof  of  the  equality  of  ND 

47 


OVER      THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

and  NM  is  quite  easy:  NDM  and  D'OM  are 
similar  triangles,  D'OM  is  isosceles  since  OD' 
equals  OM,  hence  DNM  is  isosceles  and  DN 
equals  NM. 


T 

IB 

Figure  8 
Drawing  True  Ellipse  by  String  Method 

Drawing  a  True  Ellipse — Two  Methods 

It  is  often  necessary  to  draw  a  true  ellipse 
on  a  large  scale  drawing  or  for  a  full  size  tem- 
plate. This  is  usually  done  by  one  of  two 
methods — by  the  aid  of  a  string  or  by  the  use  of 
straight-edges.  We  shall  give  both  methods  al- 
though the  straight-edge  method  is  far  the  more 
convenient  and  the  more  accurate. 

The  String  Method 

The  major  and  minor  axes  of  the  ellipse  are 
given,  AOA  and  BOB,  Figure  8. 

48 


GEOMETRICAL      SHORT-CUTS 


Figure  9 
Drawing  True  Ellipse  by  Straight-Edge  Method 

Find  the  foci  of  the  ellipse,  F  and  F',  by  making 
BF  and  BP  equal  to  AO  or  OA — striking  an  arc 
with  B  as  center  and  AO  as  radius  cutting  AO 
and  OA  in  F  and  P. 

Place  pins  or  brads  at  F  and  F'  and  fasten  a 
string  to  these  brads  whose  length  FPP  is  equal 
to  AOA. 

A  pencil^P,  holding  the  string  taut  will  de- 
scribe true  ellipse  APBA. 

49 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

The  Straight-Edge  Method 

In  Figure  9,  straight-edges  SS  and  S'S'  are 
fastened  or  tacked  along  the  major  and  minor 
axes  of  the  ellipse  to  be  drawn.  Another  straight 
edge  is  then  arranged  with  a  pencil  or  crayon  at 
P  and  brads  at  M  and  N,  making  MP  equal  to 
BO  and  NP  equal  to  AO. 

If  this  straight  edge  is  moved  with  the  brads 
at  M  and  N  bearing  against  the  edges  SS  and 
S'S'  the  pencil  at  point  P  will  describe  the  true 
quarter  ellipse  APB. 

It  is  evident  that  the  length  of  SS  or  S'S'  must 
at  least  be  equal  to  MPN  or  half  the  sum  of  the 
major  and  minor  axes  of  the  ellipse. 

A  contrivance  such  as  this  may  be  easily  ar- 
ranged in  the  drafting  room,  shop  or  field  and  a 
true  ellipse  quickly  and  accurately  drawn. 

Spiral  Curves  by  Approximation 

The  laws  of  tangency  previously  explained  en- 
able us  to  approximate  a  spiral  curve  with  the 
compass.  In  fact  it  is  these  laws  of  tangency 
which  underlie  the  various  methods  of  drawing 
the  Ionic  volute  with  a  compass.  Figures  10,  n 
and  12,  show  the  method  of  drawing  simple  scrolls 
and  their  application  to  the  drawing  of  a  scroll 
stair  newel. 

Scroll  Newels — Method  of  Drawing 

Figure  10  shows  a  scroll  composed  of  six  arcs 

50 


GEOMETRICAL       SHORT-CUTS 

and  using  six  centers;  Figure  n  shows  another 
composed  of  five  arcs  and  using  five  centers  while 
Figure  12  shows  a  still  simpler  one  composed  of 
four  arcs  and  using  only  four  centers.  The  prin- 
ciple of  laying  them  out  is  the  same  for  all,  the 
dotted  lines  on  Figure  10  show  how  Figures  n 
and  12  are  merely  parts  of  Figure  10.  The 
following  directions  are  for  drawing  the  curves 
only  as  shown,  which  are  pleasing,  but  which  may 
be  varied  infinitely  at  will. 

Begin  by  drawing  a  circle  whose  radius  is  two- 
thirds  of  the  width  of  the  hand  rail.  At  the 
center  of  this  circle  draw  a  square  whose  side 
is  equal  to  one-third  the  diameter  of  circle. 

By  dividing  the  sides  of  this  square  into  six 
equal  parts  and  drawing  the  cross  lines,  we  divide 
the  original  square  into  thirty-six  small  squares. 
We  may  now  locate  centers  i,  2,  3,  4,  5  and  6  as 
shown. 

Draw  a  line  from  i  through  C  to  p  on  the 
circle,  p  is  the  point  of  tangency  for  the  first  arc. 

With  i  as  center  and  ip  as  radius,  draw  an 
arc  intersecting  2-1  extended,  at  q,  the  point  of 
tangency  for  the  second  arc. 

With  2  as  center  and  2q  as  radius,  draw  an 
arc  intersecting  3-2  extended,  at  r,  the  point  of 
tangency  for  the  third  arc. 

With  3  as  center  and  3r  as  radius,  draw  an 
51 


OVER      THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

arc  intersecting  4-3  extended,  at  s,  the  point  of 
tangency  for  the  fourth  arc. 

With  4  as  center  and  4s  as  radius,  draw  an 
arc  intersecting  5-4  extended  at  t,  the  point  of 
tangency  for  the  fifth  arc. 

With  5  as  center  and  5t  as  radius,  draw  an 
arc  intersecting  6-5  extended  at  u,  the  point  of 
tangency  for  the  sixth  arc. 

With  6  as  center  and  6u  as  radius,  draw  a 
quarter  circle  intersecting  6v,  perpendicular  to 
6u  at  6,  at  v,  the  point  of  tangency  for  the 
straight  rail. 

The  inner  line  is  drawn  in  the  same  way  using 
the  same  centers  but  radii  in  each  case  shorter  by 
the  width  of  the  rail,  v'v,  than  the  radii  of  the 
outer  arcs. 

The  other  scrolls  are  drawn  in  exactly  the  same 
way  but  the  tangent  straight  rail  is  drawn  at  the 
points  u  and  t  respectively,  utilizing  only  parts  of 
the  whole  scroll. 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  every  case  the  point  of 
tangency  and  the  respective  centers  of  tangent 
arcs  lie  in  the  same  straight  line.  Also  that  the 
point  of  tangency  of  the  straight  line  and  the 
last  arc  and  the  center  of  the  arc  lie  in  a  line 
perpendicular  to  the  straight  line  at  the  point  of 
tangency. 

The  proportions  and  number  of  centers  may 
be  varied  at  will  if  only  these  principles  are  kept 
in  mind. 


VI. 

LETTERING,  TITLING, 

NUMBERING 

Lettering 

The  importance  of  lettering  on  a  drawing  is 
not  recognized  as  much  as  it  should  be.  The 
finest  drawing  may  be  utterly  spoiled  by  poor 
lettering  on  it — poorly  drawn  or  poorly  spaced. 
In  the  composition  of  the  sheet,  the  lettering  is  a 
vital  element.  No  draftsman  is  competent  unless 
he  can  do  lettering,  from  the  most  informal  free- 
hand to  the  most  formal  mechanically  drawn, 
neatly  and  quickly.  The  whole  subject  of  letter- 
ing is  too  important  and  too  large  to  be  treated 
here  minutely.  For  those  who  care  to  study 
the  subject — and  every  draftsman  should — there 
are  many  valuable  texts. 

Guide  Lines  and  Spacing 

It  is  well  to  remember  that  in  free-hand  letter- 
ing, which  is  used  almost  exclusively  on  working 
drawings,  rather  faint  guide  lines  top  and  bottom 
should  be  used.  These  lines  tie  the  letters  of  the 
line  together  and  tend  to  give  it  a  more  prim  and 
proper  appearance.  The  individual  letters  should 
be  rather  narrow  and  generously  spaced.  The 
generous  spacing  reduces  the  contrast  between 

54 


LETTERING 

letters  and  thus  minimizes  the  evidence  of  irregu- 
larities. A  line  of  lettering,  generously  spaced 
and  between  guide  lines,  though  very  hastily  done 
will  look  much  more  ship-shape  than  a  similar 

AAO/7W      AM)     Wl  pM.Y    ./  If  ArpT 
1'1't.HJ    WI1H    G  \IIPh    U|U./~ 
H  fl  fl  p    ^^   Vpr     l/j 


.'WITHOUT  GUIDE  LINE*/-  MODEKfl  I 

.  COMBINATION  ¥demd  Narrow.: 

Figure  13 
Guide  Lines  in  Lettering 

line  without  the  guide  lines  and  closely  spaced, 
though  very  slowly  and  painstakingly  done.     (Fig. 

13). 

Free-Hand  Lettering,  A  Method 

Lettering,  even  free-hand,  is  drawn  and  not 
written.  Each  stroke,  as  made,  determines  to  a 
great  extent  the  direction  and  position  of  the 
following  strokes,  hence  the  appearance  and  style 
of  each  letter  depends  somewhat  on  the  sequence 
and  directions  of  the  several  single  strokes  com- 
posing it. 

55 


H 


11 


34-51        234 


K 


H 


"G 


ABCDE 
FGHIJK 
LMNOP 


UVWX 
YZ 

1234567 

890 
abcde 
fdhijkl 
m°nopq 
nrtuvw 
xyz 


"B" 


CT 


j_ 


2L. 


cT 


JQ_ 


Figure  14 

A  Method  of   Free-Hand   Lettering 
56 


LETTERING 

Of  course,  lettering  will  with  practice,  like 
handwriting,  show  the  individuality  of  the  letterer, 
but  the  individuality  expressed  is  usually  a  subtle 
one  and  may  be  more  evident  in  the  composition 
of  the  words  and  the  lines  rather  than  in  the 
individual  letters,  and  the  lettering  will  always 
resemble  a  model  prototype  more  closely  than 
handwriting. 

Figure  14  shows  an  upper  and  lower  case  alpha- 
bet and  numerals  with  each  character  in  the  suc- 
cessive stages  of  its  construction  and  finally  with 
its  finishing  touches.  A  little  practice  on  this 
will  convince  the  student  how  much  more  easily 
the  letters  can  be  constructed  neatly  and  quickly 
by  making  the  various  strokes  in  the  order  and 
directions  as  indicated.  Take  any  letter,  for  in- 
stance "e."  It  makes  a  great  deal  of  difference 
whether  the  letter  is  attempted  in  one  or  two 
strokes  of  the  pen  as  usually  done,  or  whether  it 
is  made  in  three  strokes  as  shown:  first,  the  top 
curve  to  the  right,  then  the  rest  of  the  curve 
downward  and  to  the  right,  and  finally  the  cross 
bar.  A  single  trial  will  probably  convince  the 
draftsman  of  the  desirability  of  drawing  the 
curved  part  in  two  strokes  rather  than  one.  The 
same  is  true  for  the  uc"  and  the  "s."  With 
practice  some  of  the  strokes  may  be  combined, 
especially  in  small  letters. 

57 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

Style  and  Spacing 

As  for  style,  the  letters  may  be  varied  from 
the  extremely  attenuated  type  to  the  very  broad 
and  rounded.  Spacing  may  be  varied  at  will,  but 
a  well  spaced  line  of  lettering  when  seen  at  some 
distance  should  appear  of  uniform  color,  not 
spotty  with  conspicuous  light  and  dark  spaces. 
Charming  line  composition  may  be  obtained  by 
a  proper  combination  of  the  attenuated  and  broad 
types  of  letters  used  side  by  side. 

Lettering  Backwards  to  Facilitate  Spacing 

Quite  often  in  working  to  a  right-hand  margin 
or  in  filling  a  given  space  with  a  line  of  lettering, 
it  is  very  convenient  to  work  backwards  from  the 
right  margin  or  end  of  the  line.  For  instance  in 
lettering  the  word,  "ELEVATION"  in  the  right- 
hand  corner  of  a  sheet,  it  is  far  more  accurate 
to  place  the  "N"  at  the  right  margin,  then  in  suc- 
cession the  "O,"  "I,"  "T,"  "A,"  etc.,  ending  with 
the  UE,"  than  to  do  it  in  the  ordinary  way  from 
left  to  right  and  trusting  to  hit  the  right  margin 
or  end  by  instinct.  Again  assuming  that  we  want 
to  place  the  legend,  "DINING  ROOM  PLAN" 
in  a  line  four  inches  long  and  in  the  center  of  the 
sheet,  we  mark  off  the  four  inch  space  in  the 
center  as  we  want  it  and  letter  "DINING"  from 
left  to  right  in  the  usual  way  and  beginning  at  the 
left  end  of  the  line.  We  then  letter  "PLAN" 

58 


LETTERING 


backwards  from  right  to  left  and  beginning  at  the 
right  end  of  the  line.  It  is  then  comparatively 
easy  to  place  "ROOM"  in  the  center  of  the  re- 
maining space. 

Titling  and  Numbering  Drawings  by  Tracing 

In  these  days  when  sets  of  drawings  sometimes 
number  a  hundred  sheets  or  more,  the  uniform 
titling  of  these  sheets  becomes  an  overwhelming 
task  if  done  individually  by  hand.  Various 
schemes  and  devices  are  used  to  lessen  this  labor. 
The  simplest  scheme  for  small  jobs  where  there 
are  not  over  fifteen  or  twenty  tracings,  is  to  letter 
carefully  a  title  on  a  piece  of  paper,  putting  on  it 
guide  lines  so  that  it  may  be  properly  registered 


—  ;/"  P  *  r  •  g  —  PO  BL  —  /I  A  H  ^  —  A  no   I  a  c  AT  ]  on  erp  

..    A  V  1  L 

DIVICJ  A  n  p  AAME.  at  dSZHZE 

tcz 

FOARDMDELJL  ARCHE 

ZOO  R/1LDWG  1AJIE  JTOKFtlLLS.  MQ 

15 

Figure  15 
Suggestion  for  Form  of  Title 

under  each  tracing.  The  title  may  then  be  traced 
easily  and  quickly  on  each  sheet.  The  numbering 
of  each  tracing  may  be  neatly  and  quickly  done 
by  placing  a  suitable  calendar  leaf  under  the  num- 
ber space  and  tracing  the  number  therefrom.  It 
is  well  to  adopt  a  standard  form  of  title,  (see 

59 


OVER      THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

Figure  15),  leaving  the  owner's  name,  the  date, 
number  and  so  on,  blank,  filling  in  these  spaces 
properly  in  each  case. 

Rubber  Stamps  for  Titling 

In  some  offices  rubber  stamps  are  used  for  the 
title  form  and  the  various  spaces  are  filled  in  by 
hand  or  a  rubber  stamp  is  made  for  each  job 
and  used  on  the  tracings.  Rubber  stamps  are  not 
satisfactory,  however.  No  stamping  ink  is  on 
the  market  which  when  used  on  tracing  cloth  gives 
a  satisfactory  impression  on  the  blue  print.  Again 
it  is  extremely  difficult  to  get  a  clear,  clean  im- 
pression from  a  rubber  stamp. 

Printing  Titles  from  Zinc-Cuts 

A  far  better  device  is  used  in  many  offices, 
especially  for  large  sets  of  drawings.  The  title 
is  carefully  lettered  at  large  scale  on  white  draw- 
ing paper  in  black  ink.  From  this,  at  small  cost, 
a  zinc  etching  or  cut  is  made.  This  cut  or  printing 
block  is  then  inserted  in  a  wooden  frame  or  box 
with  a  hinged  cover,  so  that  the  cover,  which 
has  an  opening  in  it  a  little  larger  than  the  cut, 
when  closed  down  is  flush  with  the  printing  sur- 
face of  the  block.  The  tracing  is  now  tacked  to 
the  cover,  face  down,  with  the  title  space  over  the 
opening,  black  printing  ink  is  applied  to  the  cut 
with  a  regular  ink  roller,  the  cover  with  tracing 
is  closed  down  and  the  back  of  the  tracing  is 

60 


LETTERING 

rubbed  over  the  inked  cut.  A  clear,  clean-cut 
imprint  is  the  result.  This  is  by  far  the  easiest 
and  best  way  to  title  a  number  of  sheets  uniformly. 

Sytems  of  Numbering 

The  system  of  numbering  is  also  capable  of 
considerable  variation.  The  simplest  thing  to  do 
is  to  number  consecutively.  It  is  better,  however, 
to  separate  the  drawings  into  classes,  which  allows 
for  insertion  of  drawings  without  breaking  the 
chain  of  numbers  and  also  serves  as  an  index  to 
the  character  of  the  drawing.  The  following 
table  will  illustrate  the  point: 

i —  99,     General  Drawings 
100 — 199,     Scale  Details 
200 — upward,   Full   size  details 
or  a  more  elaborate  subdivision  for  very  large 
sets: 

i —  99,     General  floor  plans 
100 — 199,     General  sectional  drawings 
200 — 299,     General  elevations 
300 — 399,     Scale  details,  exterior 
400 — 499,     Scale  details,  interior 
500 — 599,     Full  size  details,  exterior 
600 — 699,     Full  size  details,  interior 
These  tables  may  be  varied  in  many  ways  but 
it  is  well  to  adopt  a  system  and  use  it  for  all  sets 
of  drawings,  however  small. 

61 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

Numbering  in  All  Corners 

It  is  also  convenient  to  number  sheets  in  all 
four  corners.  This  makes  it  much  easier  to 
identify  drawings  on  the  work  where  it  is  hardly 
to  be  expected  that  the  sheets  will  be  kept  in  any 
sort  of  order. 

Preparing  Sheets  with  Border  Line  and  Title 

It  is  always  well  to  cut  and  prepare  in  advance, 
with  border  line  and  title,  the  necessary  sheets 
for  any  particular  set  of  drawings.  This  may 
be  done  by  the  assistant  or  student  in  the  drafting 
room.  For  drawing  the  border  lines  it  is  con- 
venient and  time-saving  to  use  a  template  drawn 
on  paper  showing  the  border  line  and  outside 
trimming  line  with  guide  or  register  mark  for  the 
title.  The  sheets  of  tracing  cloth  or  paper  may 
then  be  placed  over  this  successively  and  the  neces- 
sary lines  traced  off. 

Titling  Originals 

It  is  well  to  title  original  drawings  as  they  are 
made  so  that  the  record  of  dates  and  draftsmen 
may  be  kept  upon  them.  A  rubber  stamp  with 
outline  of  suggested  or  similar  title  form  is  ex- 
cellent for  this.  This  title  form  should  be  stamped 
in  one  corner  of  the  sheet  of  paper  before  the 
drawing  is  begun. 

62 


VII. 

WORKING  DRAWINGS,  INDICA- 
TION, LINES 

Function  of  Working  Drawings 

Just  how  is  the  function  of  the  working  draw- 
ing best  fulfilled  on  the  actual  work?  A  working 
drawing  is  first  of  all  a  message  to  the  workman, 
a  record  of  the  facts,  data  and  information  neces- 
sary for  him  to  be  able  to  do  a  certain  piece  of 
work  in  accordance  with  a  certain  scheme  and 
idea,  usually  of  another.  The  working  drawing 
fails  in  its  mission  unless  this  message  is  delivered 
without  the  least  ambiguity.  The  message  itself 
should  be  clear  and  the  lines  presenting  it  should 
be  clean-cut  and  distinct.  Again  the  working 
drawing  should  look  well  for  no  drawing  should 
ever  leave  the  architect's  office  that  doesn't  look 
well.  A  slovenly  drawing  is  reflected  in  slovenly 
work  which  is  done  under  its  guidance  and  the 
designer  can  hardly  expect  neat  workmanlike  re- 
sults, beautiful  results,  from  a  drawing  which  is 
neither  clear  nor  beautiful. 

Tracing  and  Blue-Print 

The  draftsman  should  remember  that  neither 
the  original  drawing,  nor  the  tracing,  these  days, 
does  duty  on  the  work,  but  that  the  print  made 

63 


OVER      THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

from  the  tracing  is  the  form  of  the  message 
from  him  to  the  workman.  The  problem  then  be- 
comes to  make  an  original  which  may  be  traced 
accurately  and  intelligently  by  some  one  other 
than  himself,  if  necessary,  and  then  to  make  a 
tracing  which  will  produce  a  good,  easily  read 
blue-print.  This  is  the  really  important  thing — 
the  making  of  a  tracing  from  which  a  perfect 
blue-print  may  be  made.  No  matter  how  legible 
and  beautiful  a  tracing  may  be  if  it  does  not  pro- 
duce a  legible  and  beautiful  print  it  is  well  nigh 
useless  as  a  working  drawing. 

Original  Drawings 

The  original  paper  drawing  is  being  gradually 
eliminated,  especially  on  small  work.  Where  the 
same  draftsman  makes  the  original  and  traces  it, 
he  may  employ  many  short-cuts.  The  original 
may  be  merely  blocked  out  on  paper  then  finished 
on  the  tracing  itself  or  it  may  be  made  on  the 
tracing  cloth  or  paper  and  when  finished  simply 
inked  in  and  cleaned.  It  is  always  safer  to  have 
a  penciled  original  fairly  complete  before  tracing 
is  begun.  A  good  way  is  to  make  on  drawing 
paper,  say,  the  most  important  floor  plan  and 
elevation,  then  to  develop  the  other  plans  and 
elevations  in  pencil  on  tracing  paper  laid  over 
these  first  drawings,  thus  saving  much  scaling  and 
measuring.  The  whole  job  may  then  be  traced, 

64 


WORKING       DRAWINGS 

with  the  added  advantage  of  being  able  to  as- 
semble several  of  the  loose  sheets  for  tracing  on 
larger  sheets.  This  is  very  convenient  where 
standard  size  sheets  are  used  for  all  work. 

The  important  idea  in  working  drawings  re- 
mains, that  the  blue-print  is  what  is  used  by  the 
workman  in  the  shop  and  the  field,  that  it  is  the 
form  in  which  he  receives  the  message  from  the 
designer.  The  tracing  is  not  the  end  but  merely 
the  means  to  the  end  and  if  the  means  are  to  best 
fulfill  their  function,  the  end  must  be  kept  in 
view  constantly  and  it  will  be  in  all  suggestions 
that  follow. 

Scales  of  Working  Drawings 

The  first  thing  to  be  considered  in  a  working 
drawing  is  the  scale.  The  drawing,  especially  the 
general  drawing  to  be  used  on  the  work,  should 
not  be  so  large  as  to  be  unwieldy.  On  very  large 
work  the  scheme  adopted  by  Messrs.  McKim, 
Mead,  and  White  on  the  New  York  Municipal 
Building  is  an  excellent  one.  In  this  case  the 
general  drawings  were  made  in  sections  at  a  large 
enough  scale  to  be  quite  legible  and  on  each  partial 
drawing  was  an  index  diagram  or  key  drawing  at 
very  small  scale  with  the  part  which  was  the  par- 
ticular subject  of  the  sheet,  clearly  indicated.  It 
is  a  mistake  to  crowd  in  too  much  drawing  at 
small  scale. 

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OVER     THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

Indication  vs.  Representation 

Clear  indication  is  far  more  valuable  than  com- 
plete representation.  Broadly  speaking,  the 
smaller  the  scale  the  less  actual  representation 
must  be  indulged  in  and  the  more  indication  must 


Figure  16 

Indication    at   Various   Scales 
66 


WORKING      DRAWINGS 

be  relied  on.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
function  of  general  working  drawings  at  small 
scale  is  to  show  general  dimensions  and  general 
relations  of  parts  and  enough  drawing  to  show 
this,  is  enough.  Figure  16  shows  some  examples 
of  indication  at  various  scales. 

Silhouette  Lines 

While  we  are  talking  of  lines  we  must  not 
forget  the  value  of  the  silhouette  line.  In  draw- 
ing elevations,  especially,  this  is  extremely  useful. 
We  simply  take  the  important  masses  or  parts 
which,  although  they  may  actually  be  in  widely 
separated  planes,  appear  in  one  plane  on  our 
drawing,  and  differentiate  them  by  outlining  them 
with  a  stronger  and  more  prominent  line.  This 
may  be  done  by  using  a  black  ink  line  on  a  watered 
ink  drawing  or  by  making  the  line  wider.  Aside 
from  its  pictorial  value  in  adding  brilliancy  to  the 
drawing  it  makes  the  drawing  much  more  easily 
read. 

Corners  and  Intersections  of  Lines 

If  you  want  to  know  something  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  draftsman  who  made  a  drawing,  look 
at  the  corners  where  lines  intersect  but  do  not 
run  through.  If  the  lines  just  miss  intersection, 
the  draftsman  is  slovenly  or  afraid  of  himself,  if 
they  meet  very  precisely  and  exactly,  he  is  prob- 
ably very  painstaking  and  slow,  if  they  cross  at 

67 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

the  corners,  he  is  probably  very  efficient  and  quite 
sure  of  himself.  It  is  certain  that  nothing  will 
hurt  the  appearance  of  a  drawing  more  than  open 
corners,  lines  that  should  intersect,  remaining 
apart,  while  hardly  anything  adds  so  much  snap, 
vigor  and  the  appearance  of  certainty  to  a  draw- 
ing as  the  slight  crossing  of  lines  at  corners.  This 
crossing  at  corners  also  saves  much  time,  for  the 
draftsman  is  not  held  down  by  the  psychological 
handicap  of  being  afraid  that  he  will  carry  his 
line  too  far.  The  instant  he  crosses  his  line  he 
lifts  his  pen  or  pencil,  he  does  not  have  to  worry 
about  slowing  up  to  meet  the  other  line  exactly. 

Studying  Scale  Drawings 

In  making  a  scale  drawing  it  is  very  often  of 
great  advantage  to  study  parts  of  it  at  a  very 
large  scale  or  even  full  size.  The  indication  on 
the  smaller  scale  drawing  can  then  be  made  much 
clearer  and  more  vivid.  Indication  on  a  working 
drawing  is  after  all  a  process  of  elimination,  of 
leaving  out  rather  than  putting  in.  The  smaller 
the  scale  the  more  must  necessarily  be  left  out — 
and  one  must  learn  to  leave  out  wisely.  For 
general  working  drawings  the  scale  of  1/4"  to  the 
foot  is  mostly  used  in  this  country.  On  large 
work  this  scale  may  be  reduced  to  1/8"  or  even 
i/i  6".  On  small  work  it  may  well  be  enlarged  to 
1/2"  or  3/4".  For  detail  work,  the  scales  of  3/8", 

68 


WORKING      DRAWINGS 

3/4",  1-1/2",  and  3"  to  the  foot  are  much  to  be 
preferred  over  the  scales  of  1/2",  i",  etc.,  for 
with  the  former,  distances  may  be  accurately 
scaled  off  with  an  ordinary  rule  for  the  inch 
divisions  are  1/32",  1/16",  1/8",  and  1/4"  respec- 
tively. This  is  a  great  advantage  on  the  work 
or  in  the  shop.  Much  compactness  may  be  gained 
in  making  detail  drawings  at  the  scale  of  1-1/2"  or 
3"  to  the  foot  and  showing  the  profiles  of  mould- 
ings, ornaments  and  other  important  details  at 
full  size  in  conjunction  with  the  scale  drawings. 

General  and  Detail  Drawings 

It  has  already  been  said  that  the  real  function 
of  the  general  working  drawings  at  small  scale 
is  to  show  the  general  disposition  of  the  parts  of 
the  work  and  the  relations  between  them.  It 
remains  for  the  detail  drawings  to  show  more 
clearly  the  character  of  these  parts  —  first  the 
scale  detail  drawings  showing  the  relations  and 
layout  of  the  individual  minor  parts  which  go  to 
compose  each  major  part  and  then  the  full  size 
details  which  show  the  precise  character  of  the 
important  individual  minor  parts.  For  example, 
the  general  drawings  would  show  the  width  and 
height  of  a  window,  the  general  character  of  its 
design,  its  position  in  the  wall, — the  scale  detail 
would  take  that  window  without  relation  to  other 
windows  or  other  features  perhaps  and  show  the 

69 


OVER      THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

relation  of  its  parts,  more  clearly  than  the  general 
drawing  could  show  it;  the  full  size  detail 
drawings  would  then  show  the  section  of  the  sill, 
the  profile  of  the  architrave  moldings  and  so  on. 

Making  Detail  Drawings — the  Old  Way 

The  ways  and  means  of  making  detail  draw- 
ings have  undergone  a  greater  change  than  any 
other  phase  of  drafting  room  practice.  By  the 
character  of  his  detail  drawings,  an  architect  must 
either  rise  or  fall.  If  carefully  worked  detail 
is  to  be  had,  the  drawings  which  direct  the  work- 
men must  be  worthy  of  the  details. 

Not  so  many  years  ago,  detail  drawings  were 
made,  almost  universally,  on  heavy  drawing  paper, 
these  originals  were  turned  over  to  the  workman 
in  the  shop  who,  when  the  shop-work  was  finished, 
sent  the  drawing  to  the  building  with  his  material 
or  part  of  the  work.  A  paper  tracing  in  pencil 
was  usually  kept  as  the  office  copy.  This  system 
has  many  faults.  For  a  detail  drawing  of  some- 
thing which  was  to  be  made  by  one  craftsman 
it  was  fairly  adequate,  for  almost  any  other  pur- 
pose it  was  entirely  inadequate.  The  making  of 
the  office  copy  was  usually  relegated  to  the  office 
boy  or  "cub"  with  more  or  less  accurate  results, 
usually  less.  By  the  time  it  reached  the  building, 
the  original  drawing  was  often  illegible  and  partly 
worn  out.  It  was  rarely  possible  to  confine  each 

70 


WORKING      DRAWINGS 

detail  drawing  to  one  craft  only  with  the  result 
that  there  was  usually  a  scramble  for  the  "details" 
by  two  or  more  craftsmen  whose  work  overlapped 
and  had  to  be  illustrated  on  one  sheet.  This 
system  is  quite  inadequate  and  impractical  now 
and  has  little  reason  for  its  existence. 

Making  Detail  Drawings — the  New  Way 

The  original  detail  drawings  may  be  just  as 
easily  made  on  tracing  paper  in  pencil,  or  ink  if 
necessary  occasionally,  and  as  many  blue  prints, 
actual  accurate  copies,  as  needed  made  from  the 
tracing  paper  original.  Where  much  erasing  and 
handling  is  apt  to  be  required,  tracing  linen  may 
be  used,  but  usually  the  paper  is  sufficient  and 
preferable.  The  best  paper  for  this  purpose  is 
a  white  paper  of  medium  weight  similar  to 
"Economy." 

Full  Size  Details 

Much  effort  and  time  can  be  wasted  in  the 
making  of  a  full  size  detail.  For  instance,  let  us 
consider  an  entablature  ten  feet  high.  It  would 
be  absurd  to  make  a  full  size  detail  of  this  in  its 
entirety  although  it  is  often  done.  The  work- 
man does  not  need  it.  On  the  other  hand  it  is 
quite  essential  that  the  architect  study  the  en- 
tablature full  size  in  its  entirety  either  in  the 
drawing,  in  the  model  or  both.  After  the  study- 
ing is  complete,  the  workman  can  get  along  more 

71 


OVER     THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

conveniently  with  a  scale  detail  of  the  entablature 
with  the  principal  dimensions  marked  and  full 
size  details  of  essential  parts  and  profile,  carefully 
indexed  and  referred  to  the  scale  drawings,  all 
on  a  sheet  probably  three  by  four  feet. 

Again,  after  the  entablature  has  been  care- 
fully studied  in  its  entirety  the  parts  may  be  re- 
arranged and  assembled  on  a  much  more  compact 
sheet,  using  a  scale  index  drawing  if  necessary — 
with  practically  no  loss  of  legibility  and  clearness 
and  much  gain  of  convenience  to  both  draftsman 
and  craftsman. 

Shrinkage  of  Blue-Prints 

It  is  often  well  to  dimension  full  size  details 
because  blue-prints  shrink  on  drying  after  the 
developing  process.  This  shrinkage  is  sometimes 
insignificant  but  often  important.  In  precise  work 
it  is  therefore  better  to  put  on  at  least  general 
dimensions  on  full  size  details  especially  if  they 
are  not  accompanied  by  fully  dimensioned  scale 
or  index  drawings. 

Symmetrical  Details 

In  a  detail  of  a  symmetrical  object  the  work- 
man needs  a  drawing  of  only  one-half  or  less, 
depending  on  the  number  of  repeated  units  about 
the  axis  or  axes.  This  may  save  a  great  deal  of 
time.  Although  it  is  often  desirable  to  study  the 

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WORKING      DRAWINGS 

whole  of  a  symmetrical  object,  in  charcoal  or  by 
drawing  half  and  using  a  mirror,  or  drawing 
half  and  roughly  transferring  the  other  half  or 
similar  unit,  it  is  entirely  unnecessary  to  show 
more  than  one  of  the  repeating  units  in  the  actual 
working  drawing. 

Studying  Details 

In  the  preliminary  study  of  details  by  the  drafts- 
man, is  the  field  where  he  may  most  forcibly 
show  his  ability  and  training.  This  preliminary 
study  may  be  very  conveniently  done  on  tracing 
paper  as  already  mentioned.  It  may  be  done  with 
soft  pencil  or  charcoal  —  charcoal  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  being  easily  wiped  out — and  may  con- 
sist of  any  one  or  all  stages  between  the  crudest 
free  hand  sketch  and  the  elaborately  rendered 
drawings  of  Mr.  Platt's  office  previously  mention- 
ed. For  the  study  of  ornament  or  moulding  pro- 
files it  is  often  convenient  to  stand  the  drawing 
board  vertically — in  fact  it  is  difficult  to  judge  de- 
tails at  large  scale  or  full  size  unless  the  board  is 
placed  vertically  and  the  observer  can  get  a  rea- 
sonable distance  away. 

Mirror  in  Symmetrical  Drawings 

In  studying  symmetrical  details,  such  as  capitals 
or  balusters,  only  one-half  need  be  sketched,  the 
effect  of  the  whole  may  then  be  seen  by  holding 

73 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

a  mirror  with  its  edge  on  the  axis  of  the  detail 
and  its  surface  perpendicular  to  the  surface  of  the 
paper — this  is  a  very  useful  and  time  saving  ex- 
pedient. 

Color  to  Indicate  Materials 

In  the  days  when  the  original  drawings  or 
original  tracings  were  used  on  the  work  it  was 
the  common  practice  to  indicate  various  materials 
by  different  colors.  When  the  blue-print  came  into 
common  use  color  was  still  used  as  the  index  to 
different  materials — the  blue  prints  being  colored 
by  hand,  one  by  one.  This,  besides  being  quite 
unsatisfactory,  entailed  an  immense  amount  of 
labor  and  involved  a  great  chance  of  error.  It 
was  highly  improbable  in  several  copies  of  a  com- 
plex drawing,  that  every  copy  would  be  colored 
exactly  alike. 

Hatching     to     Indicate     Material  —  Standard 
Indications 

On  this  account,  the  practice  grew  to  use  hatch- 
ing and  cross  hatching  of  various  designs  on  the 
tracing  to  indicate  the  different  materials  and  this 
method  has  almost  entirely  supplanted  coloring. 
There  is  urgent  need  for  standard  symbols  of  in- 
dication of  materials  on  working  drawings  and 
such  standards  are  now  being  compiled  and  con- 
sidered by  committees  of  various  technical  so- 

74 


WORKING      DRAWINGS 

INDICATION   OP   MATERIAL/: 

JTCTION  ELEVATOT 

Brick       Face  Brick 

JT;one  Majomy 
Concrete    cAucco  \. '. 
Cut  Jlone 
Hollow  Tile 


Terra  Cbtta         r 
MarbleJlab 
Wood  OT  Frame 


I  7  Iron  Jleel  Metal 


Materialr  are  often  indicated  by  name, 
especially  in  Elevation,  ar  follower:— 
Jiding :  vAinglej* :  Bronze :  Copper :Tm 
Lead :  Glajr :  Galvanized  Iron:Ckrt  lion 
etc. 

Figure  17 
Chart  of   Suggested   Indication  of  Materials 


75 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

cieties.  Each  drawing  should  have  an  index 
showing  small  panels  of  the  indications  used  with 
the  name  of  the  material  indicated,  beside  it. 
Figure  17  is  a  chart  of  indications  of  material 
which  have  been  found  useful  and  easy  to  draw. 

Watered  and  Colored  Inks  in  Indicating  Material 
This  hatching  and  indication  is  best  done  in 
watered  ink  on  ink  tracings  or  in  gray  pencil  lines 
on  pencil  drawings.  The  structural  lines  enclos- 
ing this  indication  are  made  in  black  ink  or  strong 
pencil  lines.  The  resulting  blue-print  is  then 
snappy  and  very  legible,  the  important  lines  stand- 
ing out  in  clear  brilliant  white  while  the  hatching 
comes  out  in  a  subdued  pale  blue.  The  only  ad- 
vantage in  using  colored  inks  for  hatching — they 
show  up  in,  the  blue-print  about  the  same  as 
watered  ink — is  that  the  draftsman  is  less  liable 
to  error  in  making  a  complicated  drawing  when 
he  has  the  added  differentiation  of  color  at  his 
command.  This  is  particularly  true  of  dimension 
lines  which  are  almost  invariably  drawn  in  red 
or  green  ink. 

Scale  of  Indication 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  smaller  the 
scale  of  the  drawing,  the  smaller  in  scale  and  finer 
the  hatching  and  indication  should  be,  while  the 
larger  the  scale  of  the  drawing,  the  larger  In  scale 
and  coarser  this  indication  may  be. 

76 


WORKING      DRAWINGS 

Dimensioning  of  Drawings 

The  dimensioning  of  a  drawing  should  be  most 
carefully  studied.  There  is  much  danger  of 
underdoing  it  and  almost  as  much  of  overdoing 
it.  The  dimensions  should  be  put  on  logically 
and  in  conformity  with  the  methods  of  the  work- 
men so  as  to  relieve  them  as  much  as  possible  of 
the  necessity  of  calculation.  For  instance,  a 
carpenter  usually  sets  window  frames  and  other 
units  by  their  centers,  it  therefore  burdens  him 
with  calculation  and  exposes  him  to  error  if  the 
dimensions  for  windows  say,  are  given  in  distance 
apart  and  width.  It  would  be  much  better  for 
him  if  the  windows  were  figured  center  to  center 
and  width.  Again,  studding  partitions  should 
always  be  figured  center  to  center  or  to  one  side, 
for  variation  in  thickness  of  plaster  and  dimension 
of  lumber  makes  their  finished  width  a  somewhat 
uncertain  and  variable  quantity.  So  practical  limi- 
tations and  requirements  must  always  be  borne  in 
mind  in  putting  working  dimensions  on  drawings. 
Accuracy  is  a  most  important  requirement.  An 
incorrect  dimension  is  far  worse  than  one  omitted 
entirely.  The  omitted  dimension  simply  compels 
the  workman  to  depend  on  scaling  but  the  in- 
correct figure  misleads  him  and  may  cause  him 
much  trouble  before  it  is  discovered. 

77 


OVER      THE      DRAWING     'BOARD 

It  is  advantageous  to  have  the  dimension  figures 
all  read  one  way,  that  is,  even  when  the  dimension 
lines  are  vertical,  to  have  the  inset  figures  read 
horizontally.  This  adds  to  the  convenience  of 
using  the  drawing. 

Notes  on  Drawings;  Specifications 

Explanatory  notes  are  a  very  necessary  and 
important  part  of  working  drawings.  Most  archi- 
tects depend  too  much  on  specifications.  These 
should  supplement  and  reinforce  the.  working 
plans  rather  than  be  a  part  of  them.  In  other 
words,  the  working  drawings  should  be  so  care- 
fully made  with  ample  indication  of  materials  and 
explanatory  notes  that  they  should  in  themselves 
furnish  sufficient  data  for  the  proper  doing  of  the 
work  they  illustrate.  The  specifications  should 
be  merely  a  supplementary  brief  of  what  the  draw- 
ings tell,  a  summary  and  index,  calling  attention 
to  features  of  the  work. 

Original   Tracings  Not   To  Be   Used  As   Office 

Copies 

Original  tracings  of  working  drawings  should 
never  be  used  as  office  copies  especially  on  im- 
portant work.  We  must  recall  that  tracings  are 
made  only  as  a  means  toward  the  end  of  produc- 
ing the  blue  prints  which  actually  do  service  as 
working  drawings  and  they  should  be  kept  in  good 
condition  for  this  purpose — the  making  of  prints. 

78 


WORKING      DRAWINGS 

The  tracings  should  be  filed  carefully  and  safely 
so  that  clear  prints  may  be  made  at  any  time, 
years  after  the  work  is  completed,  if  necessary. 
If  the  tracings  are  used  for  office  reference  they 
become  dirty  and  crumpled  and  it  is  practically 
impossible  to  make  legible  prints  from  them. 

Bluff-Prints  for  Office  Copy 

One  or  more  extra  sets  of  blue  prints  should 
always  be  made  for  office  use — if  the  work  is 
important  and  the 'drawings  require  much  handl- 
ing, these  prints  should  be  made  on  cloth. 

Photographs  of  Drawings  for  Reference 

On  work  where  the  drawings  are  numerous  and 
the  sheets  large  it  is  well  to  have  a  set  of  photo- 
graphs of  convenient  size  of  all  the  drawings. 
Very  often  general  questions  may  be  settled  by 
examination  of  the  photographs  alone  but  the 
greatest  convenience  of  these  is  their  use  as  an 
index  to  the  complete  set.  When  any  question 
is  to  be  looked  up  it  is  extremely  convenient  to 
run  through  the  photographs  and  find  quickly  the 
particular  drawing  pertaining  to  the  question  at 
hand,  this  may  then  be  found  in  the  regular  set 
without  the  handling  and  thumbing  over  of  dozens 
of  cumbersome  prints. 


79 


VIII. 

SKETCHES,  EXHIBITION  DRAW- 
INGS, WATER  COLORS, 
PERSPECTIVE 

Studies  and  Sketches,  Character  of 

Studies  and  sketches  are  of  two  distinct  kinds; 
those  made  by  the  draftsman  as  steps  in  his  de- 
velopment of  the  solution  of  a  problem,  his  notes 
as  it  were,  and  those  which  are  intended  as  a 
preliminary  presentation  of  the  idea  after  con- 
siderable study  and  after  its  principal  features 
have  been  determined.  The  first  are  usually  not 
intended  for  the  client — the  second  usually  are 
made  for  the  client,  for  exhibition  or  publication. 

Paper  and  Media  for  Sketches 

When  the  uses  and  advantages  of  tracing  paper 
were  described,  we  discussed  study  sketches  fully 
and  also  touched  on  the  other  kind.  Finished 
sketches  may  be  made  in  almost  any  medium  and 
on  almost  any  kind  of  paper,  in  lead  pencil,  char- 
coal, colored  crayon,  ink,  both  black  and  colored, 
water-color,  both  transparent  wash  and  opaque 
and  even  oil-color.  All  kinds  of  tracing  paper, 
tracing  cloth,  every  kind  of  drawing  paper,  mat- 

80 


SKETCHES 

board,  straw-board  and  various  kinds  of  cover 
papers  and  wrapping  papers  have  furnished  the 
backgrounds  for  these  media. 

Soft  Pencil  and  Tinting 

Soft  pencil  has  already  been  spoken  of  as  used 
on  tracing  paper,  its  possibilities  in  combination 
with  crayon  tinting  and  water-color  are  unlimited. 
A  drawing  may  be  completely  rendered  in  soft 
pencil — if  large,  in  charcoal — and  then  judiciously 
tinted  in  water-color,  or  entirely  painted  over 
using  the  original  drawing  simply  as  a  guide  to 
values.  All  of  Mr.  F.  Hopkinson  Smith's  de- 
lightful water  colors  were  made  in  just  this  way — 
finished  in  charcoal  and  fixed — then  the  shadows 
colored  with  transparent  water  color  and  the  lights 
and  high  lights  done  with  opaque  color,  that  is, 
color  having  a  base  of  Chinese  White. 

Paper  for  Pencil 

For  drawings  to  be  left  in  pencil,  besides  the 
various  grades  of  tracing  paper  which  are  so 
useful  and  so  pleasant  to  work  on,  there  is  the 
English  Metallic  Sketching  paper,  a  smooth  paper 
with  powdered  glass  in  its  composition  making 
it  a  delight  for  pencil  work. 

A  paper  of  similar  surface  and  quality  is  the 
"Cameo"  paper  used  by  printers.  This  comes  in 
several  tints  and  many  weights,  is  quite  easy  to 

81 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

get  and  is  less  expensive  than  the  English  Metallic 
paper.  Its  surface  is  nearly  as  good.  Lead 
pencil  is  probably  the  medium  of  the  widest  lati- 
tude for  architectural  drawing. 

Pen  and  Ink 

One  cannot  look  upon  the  drawings  of  D. 
A.  Gregg,  Harvey  Ellis,  Joseph  Pennell,  Bertram 
Goodhue  and  many  others  without  realizing  the 
wonderful  possibilities  of  pen  and  ink  for  archi- 
tectural rendering  and  sketching.  A  good  pen  and 
ink  drawing  may  have  all  the  good  qualities  of  an 
etching. 

It  may  be  made  on  tracing  paper  or  cloth  over 
an  outline  drawing  just  as  the  soft  pencil  drawing 
may.  A  pen  and  ink  drawing  made  on  cream 
colored  tracing  paper,  trimmed  and  mounted,  has 
the  rare  quality  of  an  India  proof. 

Brown  Ink 

A  pen  and  ink  sketch  may  be  made  with  brown 
ink  and  then  washed  over  with  weak  tea  or  coffee 
or  water  color.  This  softens  the  ink  lines  some- 
what and  gives  the  richness  and  mellowness  of 
an  old  etching. 

Photo-Enlargement  of  Drawing 

A  pen  and  ink  or  pencil  drawing  made  at  small 
scale  may  be  photographed  and  enlarged  to  two, 
three  or  even  four  times  the  scale  of  the  original. 


SKETCHES 

The  enlargement  may  be  toned  a  sepia.  The 
result  is  of  surprising  vigor.  The  lines  show  a 
boldness  and  strength  that  few  draftsmen  dare 
to  put  into  an  original  except  perhaps  when  work- 
ing with  crayon  or  charcoal.  By  this  means  of 
photo-enlargement  a  small  sketch  may  often  be 
made  into  an  exhibition  picture  of  great  strength 
and  carrying  power. 

Water  Colors 

Water  colors  may  be  used  in  many  different 
ways  by  the  draftsmen.  Most  draftsmen  make 
the  mistake  of  using  too  many  colors  and  not 
becoming  acquainted  with  the  possibilities  of  their 
color  box  before  trying  to  use  color  as  a  medium 
of  expression.  To  cultivate  a  method  of  acquaint- 
ing oneself  with  tolor  pigments,  ah  eight-pan 
school  color  box  which  costs  twenty-five  cents  is 
very  useful.  These  boxes  usually  contain  standard 
red,  orange,  yellow,  green,  blue,  violet  and  a 
black  and  a  white. 

Experiments  in  Color 

On  a  piece  of  white  paper  draw  five  rows  of 
seven  half-inch  squares  or  triangles  in  each  row — 
Figure  18. 

The  squares  of  the  first  row  are  to  be  filled  in 
with  the  six  colors  and  black  as  strong  as  they 
can  be  mixed  with  water,  that  is,  using  the  colors 
at  their  fullest  intensity. 

83 


OVER     THE      DRAWING     BOARD 

The  squares  in  the  second  row  are  to  be  filled 
in  by  tints  of  the  colors  made  by  reducing  each 
color  with  water. 


EachCbfor 
FuUJtrength 

:iixedwith 
Vfeter 

Mixed  with 
White 

Mixed  with 
BlacK^White 


nnnn 


Mi 


with 


nnnni 


in 


Figure  18 
Chart  for   Experiments    in   Color 


The  squares  of  the  third  row  are  to  be  filled 
in  by  tints  of  the  colors  made  by  reducing  each 
with  white. 

For  the  fourth  row  we  reduce  each  color  by 
adding  black  and  white — this  tends  to  neutralize 
or  gray  the  colors. 

84 


SKETCHES 

For  the  last  row  we  try  to  neutralize  each 
color  by  adding  its  complementary,  that  is,  to  the 
red  we  add  green;  to  the  orange,  blue;  to  the 
yellow,  violet;  to  the  green,  red;  to  the  blue, 
orange;  to  the  violet,  yellow;  and  to  the  black, 
white.  This  gives  us  a  series  of  modified  grays. 

Experiments  should  now  be  made,  placing 
colors  next  to  each  other  or  one  around  another 
to  note  the  modification  thus  possible,  also  by 
putting  various  colors  around  spots  of  neutral 
gray  and  noting  the  effect  on  the  gray — the  gray 
will  tend  towards  the  complementary  of  the  color 
around  it.  Such  experiments  will  show  some  of 
the  possibilities  of  a  color  box. 

A  set  of  a  few  colors  with  its  possibilities  known 
thoroughly,  is  much  better  than  a  set  containing 
many  and  used  haphazardly. 

Selection  of  Pigments 

Very  few  water-colorists  use  the  same  selection 
of  pigments  for  their  work.  Some  use  only  six 
colors  while  others  as  many  as  eighteen  or  twenty. 
Harpignie,  the  eminent  French  water-colorist  who 
first  rendered  his  paintings  in  monochrome,  using 
neutral  tint  for  the  purpose,  and  then  colored 
them,  used  a  palette  of  eighteen  colors.  The 
architectural  draftsman  can  get  along  with  six 
and  should  certainly  find  twelve  or  fourteen 

85 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

enough  for  all  his  needs.     It  is  surprising  how 
much  can  be  done  with  the  following  six  colors: 

Yellow  Ochre 

Gamboge 

Carmine 

Light  Red 

Cobalt 

Prussian  Blue 

The  addition  of  the  following: 

Chinese  White 

Aliziran  Crimson  or  Vermillion 

Vandyke  Brown 

Emerald  or  Viridian  Green 

Mauve 

Neutral  tint  or  Charcoal  Gray 
will  make  an  excellent  color  box  which  may  be 
used  for  almost  any  purpose  and  with  which  the 
six  standards  may  be   closely   approximated,   if 
desired. 

Tinted  Outline  vs.  Painting 

A  sketch,  where  the  outline  is  well  and  snappily 
drawn  needs  but  very  light  washes  of  color  to 
give  it  much  additional  interest  and  life.  Here 
the  outline  drawing  itself  remains  the  important 
thing.  This  must  be  distinguished  from  the  real 
water-color  rendering  where  the  outline  is  merely 

86 


SKETCHES 

the  edge  of  an  area  of  color  and  not  a  drawn  line. 
Architectural  draftsmen  often  fail  as  water  color- 
ists  because  of  being  handicapped  by  their  reliance 
on  the  drawn  outline.  A  drawing  may  be  colored 
or  tinted  effectively  but  it  should  remain  a  draw- 
ing, the  drawn  lines  being  of  major  importance. 
A  painting  is  a  mosaic  of  areas  of  color  and  the 
drawn  outline  is  merely  a  guide  to  the  proper 
placing  of  these  areas — and  should  have  no  prom- 
inence in  the  finished  result. 

Transparent  and  Opaque  Colors 

As  to  whether  transparent  washes  or  opaque 
colors  should  be  used  is  a  matter  of  taste.  Beauti- 
ful results  have  been  obtained  with  either  and 
with  a  combination  of  both.  Mr.  F.  Hopkinson 
Smith's  rule  to  use  transparent  washes  for  the 
shadows  and  opaque  color  for  the  high  lights, 
surfaces  which  reflect  light,  is  a  logical  one. 

Composition 

As  a  foundation  for  pictorial  work  the  drafts- 
man should  study  composition.  He  should  grasp 
every  opportunity  to  see  and  analyze  good  pictures 
and  drawings.  When  he  likes  a  picture  he  should 
always  ask  himself  why  he  likes  it  and  try  his 
best  to  find  the  answer.  When  he  is  dissatisfied 
with  his  own  work  he  should  always  ask  himself 
why  he  doesn't  like  it.  If  we  know  why  a  thing 
is  not  good,  we  can  usually  make  it  better. 

87 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

Essentials  of  Composition 

A  few  things  are  essential  in  composing  a  draw- 
ing— there  should  be  a  principal  point  of  interest, 
there  may  be  minor  points  of  interest  and  their 
arrangement  should  be  a  balanced  one.  The 
principal  point  of  interest  should  not  be  in  the 
exact  center  but  rather  to  one  side  and  above  or 
below  the  center.  No  point  of  interest  should 
ever  come  near  the  edges  and  particularly  not  in 
the  corners.  More  pictorial  drawings  have  been 
ruined  by  not  following  this  one  little  rule  than  in 
any  other  way — interest  and  attraction  should  be 
kept  out  of  the  corners  of  a  picture. 
Formal  Studies 

Studies  are  often  much  more  formal  in  char- 
acter than  the  sketches  already  described.  Compe- 
tition and  exhibition  drawings  often  show  a  vast 
amount  of  labor.  No  draftsman  could  help  being 
inspired  by  such  masterly  drawings  as  those  made 
by  Mr.  Eggers  and  Mr.  Jules  Guerin  for  the 
Lincoln  Memorial. 

Shades  and  Shadows 

On  formal  drawings,  it  is  customary  to  cast 
shadows  with  mathematical  correctness  and  every 
draftsman  should  familiarize  himself  with  the 
methods  of  doing  this  accurately  and  quickly. 
Shadows  at  once  add  the  third  dimension  to  a 
two-dimensional  drawing  and  nothing  perhaps  will 

88 


SKETCHES 

add  brilliancy  to  an  architectural  drawing  with 
less  effort  than  the  shades  and  shadows  accurately 
drawn.  A  mere  outline  drawing,  when  the 
shadows  are  accurately  and  snappily  outlined  and 
then  washed  in  lightly  so  as  to  be  just  visible, 
becomes  a  pictorial  presentation  of  quality. 

Monochrome  Drawings 

Competition  drawings  are  now  nearly  always 
rendered  in  monochrome  and  often  in  Indian  Ink. 
Where  water-color  is  permissible  a  monochrome 
drawing  may  be  given  much  warmth  and  life  if  the 
paper  is  first  given  a  thin  wash  of  yellow  ochre 
and  the  drawing  rendered  in  Ivory  black  or 
Sepia.  The  yellow  ochre  foundation  blends  and 
warms  and  harmonizes  the  whole  work.  Ivory 
black  also  has  the  quality  of  settling  beautifully 
and  giving  an  interesting  texture. 

Settlement  in  Water  Color 

To  obtain  settlement  in  a  water-color  wash, 
the  color  should  be  laid  on  plentifully  with  a  full 
brush  and  the  wash,  when  once  laid  on,  not  dis- 
turbed until  dry.  It  is  the  taking  advantage  of 
the  peculiarities  of  the  medium  used  that  lifts  a 
drawing  above  the  commonplace,  and  shows  the 
skill  of  the  draftsman. 

Brush  Technique 

The  possibilities  of  the  brush  and  its  technique 
89 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

should  also  be  studied,  and  painting  either  from 
copy  or  from  nature  such  subjects  as  simple 
flowers  and  leaves  with  little  or  even  no  drawn 
outline  as  guide,  will  develop  a  much  to  be  desired 
ability  to  use  the  brush  properly. 

Perspective,  Geometric 

A  thorough  knowledge  of  Geometric  perspec- 
tive is  also  of  great  value  to  the  draftsman  and 
designer.  Next  to  the  model,  the  perspective 
drawing  best  illustrates  the  appearance  of  an  ob- 
ject. With  many  draftsmen  the  making  of  a 
perspective  is  a  tedious  and  much  disliked  task. 
It  need  not  be  if  he  understands  thoroughly  the 
few  essential  principles  underlying  the  science. 
The  author's  text  book,  "Perspective,"  is  a  con- 
cise, simple  book  boiled  down  to  the  essentials 
and  presented  after  the  manner  of  modern  teach- 
ing and  written  particularly  for  the  home  student. 
Careful  studying  of  this  or  some  other  text  on 
the  subject  is  the  only  way  to  learn  it  and  it  is 
worth  while  for  every  draftsman. 

Perspective,  Free-Hand 

Free-hand  perspective  is  of  two  kinds,  that 
drawn  from  Nature  and  that  built  up  after  the 
manner  of  geometric  perspective  but  without  the 
actual  mechanical  laying  out  of  the  points  and 
projections.  A  knowledge  of  geometric  perspec- 
tive is  less  necessary  to  the  first  than  to  the  second 

90 


SKETCHES 

but  is  helpful  in  both.  To  draw  from  nature, 
training  of  the  eye  to  observe  properly  and  train- 
ing of  the  hand  to  follow  the  eye  instinctively 
are  necessary.  These  come  from  plentiful  prac- 
tice. For  the  second,  a  sort  of  impromptu  laying 
out  of  perspectives,  a  thorough  knowledge  and 
long  practice  of  the  geometric  science  are  quite 
necessary.  In  fact,  it  is  only  after  many  years  of 
practice  of  geometric  perspective  and  practice  at 
drawing  from  Nature  that  any  one  can  hope  to 
lay  out  a  perspective  free-hand  with  truth  and 
accuracy  in  the  result. 

Aids  in  Free-Hand  Perspective 

There  are  many  aids  to  this.  The  best  of 
these  helps  is  the  dividing  up  of  the  subject  into 
convenient  rectangles  and  blocks.  It  is  easy  to 
learn  to  draw  a  rectangle  or  block  in  any  position. 
If  we  divide  our  object,  a  building  for  instance, 
into  a  number  of  convenient  rectangles  and  blocks, 
it  simplifies  the  drawing  very  much.  This  will  be 
shown  in  Figure  23  after  some  of  the  peculiarities 
of  rectangles  in  perspective  have  been  described. 

Diagonals  and  Centers 

In  the  perspective  of  rectangles,  the  use  of  diag- 
onals is  of  the  utmost  value  in  finding  centers 
and  dividing  spaces.  Figure  19  shows  the  method 
of  finding  the  perspective  center  of  any  rectangle 
in  perspective  by  simply  drawing  the  diagonals. 

91 


OVER     THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

The  lines  AD  and  BC  are  the  perspectives  of  the 
diagonals  and  their  intersection  must  be  the  per- 
spective of  the  center.  (See  "Perspective,"  Page 
53)- 


Figure  19 
Diagonals   and   Perspective    Centers 

Even  Divisions 

By  this  method  a  space  may  be  divided  correctly 
into  2,  4,  8,  1 6  .  .  .  .  parts  by  first  finding 
the  center  and  then  the  center  of  each  half  and  so 
on.  (Fig.  20). 

Odd  Divisions 

A  space  may  be  divided  into  any  number  of 
equal  parts  by  another  simple  method  illustrated 
in  Fig.  21.  To  divide  the  perspective  rectangle 
ABCD  into  five  equal  perspective  parts,  we  may 
divide  the  verticals  AB  and  CD,  each  into  five 
equal  parts  connecting  the  division  points  by  hori- 
zontal lines  in  perspective.  If  we  now  draw 


SKETCHES 


Figure  20 
Even    Divisions   in   Perspective 


either  diagonal,  the  diagonal  will  intersect  the 
horizontal  lines  in  points  through  which  verticals 
may  be  drawn  dividing  the  rectangle  into  five 
parts. 


Figure  21 

Odd    Divisions    in    Perspective 

93 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 


Figure  22 
Diagonals  for  Measuring  in  Perspective 


94 


SKETCHES 

Diagonals  for  Measuring 

Diagonals  are  also  useful  in  drawing  a  series 
of  equal  spaces  in  perspective  without  the  use  of 
vanishing  or  measuring  points.  In  Figure  22,  the 
block  AB-CD-EF  is  drawn  in  perspective.  We 
may  easily  lay  off  any  number  of  spaces  perspec- 
tively  equal  to  DB  or  BF  by  means  of  diagonals. 
If  we  continue  BA  to  A',  making  A'A  equal  to 
AB,  and  continue  DC  to  C,  making  C'C  equal 
to  DC,  the  rectangle  A'ACC  will  be  perspective- 
ly  equal  to  ABCD.  Continuing  its  diagonal,  A'C, 
to  H  and  drawing  the  vertical  HG,  we  get  GC 
and  HD,  perspectively  equal  to  each  other  and 
to  CA  and  DB.  In  the  same  manner  we  may 
continue  and  find  HL  and  GK  and,  on  the  other 
side,  EM  and  FN. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  A'CH  is  really  the  diag- 
onal of  a  rectangle  of  which  C  is  the  center. 

Laying  Out  a  Perspective  Free-Hand 

Figure  23  shows  the  application  of  these  de- 
vices to  the  laying  out  of  a  small  perspective,  free- 
hand. It  will  be  noticed  how  the  centers  for  the 
gable  end  and  for  the  location  of  windows  were 
found  by  means  of  intersecting  diagonals  and  how 
some  of  the  measurements  were  made  with  a  sys- 
tem of  diagonals. 

It  is  all  really  applying  the  short-cuts  of  geo- 
metric perspective  with  a  great  deal  left  to  judg- 

95 


OVER     THE      DRAWING      BOARD 


El 


El 

n 


i — i — \ — i 


Figure  23 
Laying  Out  a  Free-Hand  Perspective 


SKETCHES 

ment  and  the  eye.  With  practice,  the  results  will 
be  pleasing  and  fairly  accurate  but  never  so  sure 
as  if  carefully  laid  out,  which  is  necessary  if  the 
perspective  is  to  be  of  value  in  study  of  design, 
for  in  free-hand  work  we  are  very  apt  to  draw 
things  as  we  should  like  to  have  them  look  rather 
than  as  they  will  look  and  this  brings  us  to  a 
valuable  dodge. 

Inverting  the  Process  of  Perspective 

We  may  draw  an  object  in  free  hand  perspec- 
tive as  we  should  like  it  to  look  and  by  an  inverse 
process  of  perspective  derive  the  plan  and  eleva- 
tions of  the  object  from  this  perspective.  By 
continuing  the  converging  lines  we  may  find  the 
vanishing  points.  We  may  assume  the  nearest 
corner  as  the  vertical  line  of  measures,  find  the 
measuring  points  in  the  usual  way,  project  the 
perspective  distances  back  to  the  front  line  in  plan 
and  knowing  one  or  more  of  the  principal  dimen- 
sions, we  may  construct  a  scale  by  which  we  may 
measure  the  others.  It  is  simply  the  inverted 
process — given  a  perspective  we  find  the  working 
points  and  actual  dimensions  instead  of  being 
given  the  actual  dimensions,  we  find  the  working 
points  and  the  perspective.  Figure  24  illustrates 
this  process  applied  to  the  perspective  of  a  rec- 
tangular block,  and  the  points  are  numbered  in 
the  order  in  which  they  are  found. 

97 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 


Figure  24 
Inverting  the  Process  of  Perspective 


98 


SKETCHES 

Example  of  Inverted  Perspective 

In  Figure  24,  we  first  find  V  and  V  by  con- 
tinuing the  converging  lines  and  then  draw  the 
horizon  line  connecting  them.  Below  we  then 
draw  another  horizontal  line  and  project  V,  V 
and  C,  the  nearest  corner,  on  it.  We  find  6,  the 
center  of  VV  and  draw  a  semi-circle  with  6  as 
center  and  6V  or  6V  as  radius.  On  this  semi- 
circle we  project  7,  the  point  of  station,  under  C. 
With  V  and  V'  as  centers  and  V-y  and  V-7  as 
radii,  we  strike  arcs  and  find  M  and  M',  the 
measuring  points.  Assume  10  anywhere  on  €5-7 
and  draw  through  10,  a  horizontal  line.  From 
10  draw  lines  to  V  and  V.  On  these  lines  we 
may  project  any  point  of  the  perspective,  like  n, 
and  by  drawing  from  M'  through  n  to  13,  find 
10-13,  the  true  length  at  the  scale  of  the  vertical 
line  of  measures,  of  the  perspective  line  10-11 
or  G-i  i'  of  the  perspective  picture.  This  is  mere- 
ly the  converse  of  making  a  perspective  as  de- 
scribed in  the  third  chapter  of  the  "Perspective." 

Constructing  Plans  and  Elevations  from  Photo- 
graphs 

The  same  process  of  inverted  perspective  may 
be  even  more  usefully  applied  to  photographs. 
By  continuing  the  converging  horizontals  we  find 
the  vanishing  points.  Assuming  the  nearest  corner 
as  the  vertical  line  of  measures  we  may  find  other 

99 


OVER     THE      DRAWING     BOARD 

working  points  and,  at  the  scale  of  the  photo- 
graph, construct  the  plan  and  elevations  in  so  far 
as  indicated  in  the  photograph.  If  one  or  more 
of  the  actual  dimensions  are  known,  we  may  make 
a  scale  with  which  any  dimension  may  be  measured 
off  the  constructed  plan  and  elevations. 


100 


IX. 

FILING  OF  DRAWINGS 
AND  PLATES 

Standard  Size  Sheets 

The  method  of  filing  and  keeping  working 
drawings  should  receive  serious  consideration. 
The  rolled  drawing  should  be  banished  from  the 
office.  It  is  an  all  around  nuisance.  Drawings 
of  miscellaneous  sizes  are  also  a  nuisance  and  it 
is  becoming  customary  to  standardize  the  size  of 
drawings.  When  a  standard  size  sheet  is  adopted 
it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  use  a  multiple  of 
that  size  for  an  occasional  large  detail.  These 
large  sheets  may  then  be  folded  to  match  the 
standard  in  size.  For  instance,  24"  x  36"  is  very 
convenient,  when  necessary  36"  x  48"  is  used. 
By  folding  the  large  sheets  once  they  may  be  con- 
veniently filed  with  the  others. 

Filing  and  Storing  of  Drawings 

For  filing,  chests  of  drawers  are  the  simplest 
but  not  the  most  convenient.  Vertical-filing  cases 
containing  folders,  envelopes  or  merely  hangers 
for  the  bound  drawings  are  very  convenient  and 
very  compact.  They  may  be  obtained  in  many 

101 


OVER      THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

forms.  For  the  storing  of  drawings  in  closets 
or  vaults  the  best  method  is  to  use  a  hanger  or 
binder  for  the  edges  of  the  drawings  and  to 
support  the  ends  of  these  binders  on  rods  run- 
ning from  wall  to  wall  in  the  vault  or  closet. 
The  binders  may  vary  from  the  simple  stick  or 
strip  of  wood  with  the  drawings  fastened  to  it  in 
some  simple  manner,  to  the  clamp  arrangement 
somewhat  on  the  order  of  the  device  used  for  the 
filing  of  newspapers  in  libraries  and  clubs.  The 
drawings  may  also  be  provided  with  eyelets  and 
hung  on  S  hooks  which  slide  on  rods. 

Advantages  of  Vertical  Filing 

When  it  is  considered  that  drawings  may  be 
filed  in  this  way  in  two  or  three  tiers  and  quite 
closely  compacted,  we  see  how  the  capacity  of  the 
ordinary  closet  or  vault  may  become  much  en- 
larged. Above  all  things,  this  method  in  one  form 
or  another  keeps  the  drawings  flat,  clean  and  easily 
accessible. 

The  whole  filing  and  storing  question  becomes 
much  complicated  if  the  drawings  vary  greatly  in 
size  but  the  vertical  system  is  flexible  enough  to 
allow  considerable  variation. 

One  Dimension  of  Sheets,  Standard 

The  important  thing  to  remember  when  using 
the  binding  strip  and  hanger  method  of  storing 

102 


FILING 

and  filing  is  to  adopt  a  strip  long  enough  to  take 
the  short  dimension  of  the  largest  drawing  to  be 
filed.  This,  although  wasting  space  when  smaller 
drawings  are  stored,  allows  extreme  variation  in 
size  when  necessary.  It  is  well,  even  when  varia- 
tion in  size  of  drawings  is  necessary,  to  have  one 
dimension  of  all  drawings  a  definite  size,  say  30" 
or  36".  This  simplifies  the  buying  of  paper  or 
cloth  as  well  as  the  filing  and  storing  while  allow- 
ing adequate  variation  in  size  of  the  sheets  them- 
selves. 

Treatment  of  Old  Rolled  Drawings 

The  most  serious  trouble  is  in  the  older  offices 
where  there  is  usually  an  accumulation  of  old 
drawings,  stored  long  before  the  days  of  vertical 
filing,  of  every  conceivable  size,  usually  rolled 
tightly  and  extremely  kinky  and  cranky.  Tracing 
cloth  will  usually  flatten  itself  out  if  laid  flat  on  a 
board  or  table  for  a  few  days.  Paper  drawings 
and  blue  prints  may  be  flattened  by  spreading  out 
face  down  on  a  board,  tacking  the  corners  if  neces- 
sary and  then  moistening  the  back  with  a  sponge 
— they  will  dry  quite  flat.  By  sorting  and  folding, 
these  old  drawings  may  be  conveniently  filed  ver- 
tically if  not  in  the  best  manner,  at  least  far  better 
than  if  rolled. 

Filing  Plates,  Photographs,  Etc. 

Every  draftsman  sooner  or  later  runs  into  the 

103 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

problem  of  taking  care  of  magazine  plates,  photo- 
graphs, clippings  and  other  reference  material 
The  problem  is  two-fold.  First  we  need  a  con- 
venient, compact  file,  easy  to  use,  and  then  a  good 
index  system  which  is  expansive  and  simple.  After 
personal  experience  with  many  systems  of  filing, 
such  as  small  drawers,  pigeon-hole  cases  with  slid- 
ing shelves,  portfolios  and  folders,  loose  leaf 
binders  and  others,  the  author  has  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  large  drawer,  vertical  file  such 
as  is  used  in  the  modern  business  office  for  corre- 
spondence and  other  purposes,  is  by  far  the  best. 
It  is  very  compact,  perfectly  flexible  and  may  be 
indexed  as  elaborately  as  desired.  It  is  some- 
what difficult,  as  yet,  to  get  cases  with  drawers 
large  enough  for  the  usual  size  plate  ( 1 i"  x  14") 
but  they  may  be  had  or  they  may  be  made  quite 
cheaply.  Instead  of  chests  of  drawers,  boxes 
made  of  wood  or  compo-board  may  be  used.  A 
sheet  metal  book-end  such  as  is  used  in  libraries 
may  be  used  successfully  for  the  "follower  block." 
Small  pictures  or  clippings  may  be  grouped  and 
mounted  on  sheets  of  thin  card-board  the  same 
size  as  the  plates  and  then  filed  with  them. 

Direct  Index 

In  these  drawers,  the  groups  of  plates  are 
separated  by  pieces  of  cardboard  having  an  index 
tab  on  top.  These  tabs  may  be  indexed  directly 

104 


FILING 

with  the  name  of  the  subject  matter  of  the  group 
and  arranged  alphabetically  or  they  may  be  num- 
bered after  some  system  and  then  referred  to  by 
means  of  a  card-index. 

Dewey  Decimal  System 

A  very  comprehensive  scheme  of  indexing  is 
the  Dewey  Decimal  System,  amply  explained  by 
Dr.  Dewey's  own  book.  A  bulletin  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois — "An  Extension  of  the  Dewey 
Decimal  System  of  Classification  Applied  to 
Architecture  and  Building"  by  N.  Clifford  Ricker 
is  extremely  valuable  for  the  classification  of  all 
literature,  from  catalogs  to  photographs,  usually 
found  about  the  architect's  office.  The  system  is 
adaptable  to  the  smallest  as  well  as  the  largest 
collection. 

Briefly  described,  the  Dewey  System  divides  all 
science,  art  and  literature  into  ten  classes  as 
follows : 

o  to  100     General  works 
100  to  200     Philosophy 
200  to  300     Religion 

300  to  400     Sociology   and   so   on   up   to 
1000,  700  to  800  covering  Art. 

Each  one  of  these  classes  or  centuries  is  divided 
into  ten  classes  as  under  Art,  700;  710  is  for 

105 


OVER      THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

Landscape  Architecture,  720  is  for  architecture, 
730  for  Sculpture,  and  so  on. 

Each  one  of  these  subdivisions  or  decades  is 
then  divided  into  ten  classes,  as  under  720,  archi- 
tecture; 721  represents  construction;  722, 
Ancient;  723,  Mediaeval;  724,  Modern;  725, 
Public,  and  so  on. 

Example 

Each  one  of  these  unit  divisions  may  be  further 
divided  into  tenths,  hundredths  and  on  so  that  the 
very  nicest  classification  is  possible,  at  the  same 
time  avoiding  any  confusion.  For  instance, 
725.824  would  signify  a  vaudeville  theatre:  725 
representing  a  public  building  of  modern  archi- 
tecture, .8  qualifying  this  by  denoting  a  recreation 
building  and  .02  further  qualifying  the  recreation 
building  as  a  theatre  -and  .004  qualifying  the 
theatre  as  a  vaudeville  house.  There  is  no  limit 
to  the  extension  of  this  classification  as  the  in- 
ventor's book  or  Dr.  Kicker's  bulletin  will  show. 

Use 

To  use  this  classification  to  advantage  each 
item  to  be  filed  must  be  numbered  according  to 
the  system  and  filed  numerically.  When  a  certain 
subject  is  wanted,  it  needs  only  to  be  looked  up  in 
an  alphabetical  index,  its  characteristic  number 
found  and  then  all  items  pertaining  to  it  may  be 
readily  picked  from  the  numerically  arranged  files. 

106 


FILING 

The  numbers  being  characteristic  for  different 
subjects,  they  are  soon  memorized  with  use  and 
the  index  becomes  a  direct  one,  that  is,  requiring 
no  supplementary  reference  index  beyond  the  tabs 
on  the  guide  or  separation  cards. 

It  would  be  a  boon  if  all  plates  published  in 
architectural  magazines  and  all  pamphlets  sent 
out  by  manufacturers  would  have  the  Dewey  sys- 
tem number  printed  in  one  corner.  The  system 
if  once  tried  will  probably  never  be  dropped  for 
it  is  well  nigh  limitless  in  its  scope  and  almost 
fool-proof. 


107 


X. 

PHOTOGRAPHY 

Usefulness  and  Possibilities 

Photography  is  extremely  useful  to  the  drafts- 
man in  many  ways.  Its  pictorial  possibilities  are 
limited  only  by  the  knowledge  of  what  a  picture 
should  be  and  the  technical  ability  of  the  u§er. 

Two  Kinds  of  Photography 

Its  field  readily  divides  itself  into  two  parts: 
record  photography,  in  which  may  be  included 
photographs  of  detail  and  landscape  accessories 
to  be  used  later  in  the  study  of  design  or  rendering, 
and  pictorial  photography,  by  means  of  which  pic- 
tures may  be  made  having  much  of  the  quality 
of  etchings  and  fine  lithographs.  (Figures  25 
and  26). 

Record  Photography 

Record  photography  has  been  popularized  so 
that  anyone  may  indulge  in  it  without  inconveni- 
ence or  muss — a  dark  room  is  no  longer  necessary 
for  any  of  the  ordinary  processes  of  photography. 
Exposure  has  been  simplified  so  that  it  has  become 
automatic  to  give  the  right  time.  All  the  rest 

108 


^      £ 

M 

•*       T; 


(From  the  Journal  of  the  A.  I.  A.) 

Figure  26 
Pictorial    Photography— The   Capitol,   Washington 


P  H  OTOG  R A  PHY 

may  be  easily  done  at  home  by  means  of  auto- 
matic tanks  and  the  very-easy-to-use  gaslight 
papers  or  it  may  be  turned  over  to  commercial 
finishers  who  do  the  work  quite  cheaply. 

General  Recommendations 

To  him  who  wants  to  rise  above  mere  record 
photography,  we  must  recommend  the  doing  of 
all  his  own  finishing.  The  work  will  be  a  fascinat- 
ing diversion  from  the  routine  of  the  drafting 
room  and  will  prove  profitable  in  many  ways. 
Small  negatives  from  which  enlarged  prints  of 
various  sizes  may  be  made  are  recommended  and 
all  suggestions  for  apparatus  and  processes  will 
be  made  on  this  basis. 

The  Camera 

Unquestionably  the  ideal  camera  for  the  archi- 
tectural student  or  draftsman  is  the  so-called 
miniature  one  making  a  negative  2"  x  3"  or  less 
in  size  on  roll  or  pack  film.  These  may  be  ob- 
tained with  excellent  lenses  for  from  ten  dollars 
up.  As  to  lenses,  extreme  speed  is  not  necessary. 
The  only  advantage  of  speed  is  the  increased  field 
of  work — the  faster  the  lens  the  less  limited  are 
the  conditions  under  which  one  may  work.  For 
a  negative  from  which  enlargements  are  to  be 
made,  good  definition  is  essential  and  a  lens  cor- 
rected for  astigmatism  is  desirable. 

109 


OVER     THE     DRAWING     BOARD 

Exposure,  Experiments 

The  best  guide  to  exposure  is  experience  and 
the  best  guide  to  experimenting  is  one  of  the  many 
good  exposure-meters  on  the  market.  If  you  want 
to  get  some  real  pictures,  experiment  on  one  sub- 
ject— exposing  not  only  as  the  meter  directs  but 
for  one-fourth,  one-half,  twice  and  three  times  the 
time  given  by  the  meter.  Compare  the  resulting 
negatives.  A  few  such  experiments  will  not  be  a 
waste  of  material  but  will  provide  an  education 
in  exposure  and  save  many  a  film  later. 

Developing  the  Film  or  Plate 

Developing  of  films  and  plates  has  been  reduced 
to  a  very  simple  process.  The  tank  method  is 
practically  automatic,  does  away  with  the  dark 
room  entirely  when  roll  film  is  used  and  with 
pack  films  or  plates  it  is  only  necessary  to  load 
the  tank  in  the  dark  and  any  darkened  room  or 
closet  serves  the  purpose.  Tank  development 
will  get  more  out  of  95  per  cent  of  photographic 
exposures  than  any  other  treatment.  It  is  the 
least  mussy  and  the  most  convenient,  besides  as 
the  manufacturer's  say:  "the  experience  is  in  the 
tank." 

Minor  Processes 

The  fixing,  washing  and  drying  of  negatives 
need  not  be  considered  here.  They  are  mere  me- 

110 


P  H  OTOGR A  PHY 

chanical  processes  explained  thoroughly  in  the 
circulars  accompanying  every  package  of  films  or 
plates  and  in  the  booklets  published  by  the  several 
manufacturers. 

Making  the  Print  by  Contact 

Contact  printing  is  a  very  simple  process  and 
need  not  be  discussed  here  at  length.  The  possi- 
bilities of  the  so-called  "gas-light  papers"  like 
"Velox,"  "Cyko,"  "Azo,"  etc.,  are  unlimited. 
Manufacturer's  booklets  explain  the  use  of  these 
papers  very  carefully.  Experiments  like  the  fol- 
lowing will  prove  very  interesting  and  instructive. 

Valuable  Experiments 

Take  a  normal  negative  and  ascertain  the  time 
it  takes  to  make  a  good  print  from  it,  using  normal 
developer  and  any  standard  brand  of  "gas-light" 
paper.  Now  make  three  prints  exposing  half  the 
normal  time,  three  prints  exposing  the  normal 
time,  and  still  three  others  exposing  twice  the 
normal  time.  Prepare  three  batches  of  develop- 
ing solution,  one  normal,  one  half-strength  and 
one  double-strength.  Develop  one  of  each  group 
of  prints  in  each  strength  of  developer.  The 
nine  different  results  will  show  some  of  the  possi- 
bilities, using  the  same  negative  with  one  brand  of 
paper  and  developer. 

ill 


OVER     THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

Making  the  Print  by  Projection 

The  use  of  the  enlarging  lantern  or  stereopticon 
for  making  positive  prints  greatly  enlarges  the 
pictorial  possibilities  of  photography.  Briefly,  the 
physical  process  of  photographic  enlargement  is 
quite  the  same  as  that  of  showing  a  large  picture 
on  a  screen  by  means  of  a  lantern  slide.  The 
apparatus  to  be  used  is  constructed  in  essentially 
the  same  way.  Instead  of  the  lantern  slide  we  use 
the  photographic  negative,  at  the  screen  we  use 
a  sheet  of  sensitized  paper,  the  light  parts  of  the 
negative  image  on  the  paper  darken  its  sensitized 
surface  and  on  development  we  have  the  positive 
print.  Experiments  in  exposure  and  development 
may  be  made  exactly  as  we  did  in  contact  printing. 
"Gas-light"  paper  may  be  used  but  oftener  the 
so-called  "Bromide"  papers,  which  are  much 
faster,  are  preferable. 

Advantages  of  Projection;  "Painting  with  Light" 
The  advantages  of  printing  by  projection  are 
numerous:  prints  of  varying  sizes  and  much  en- 
larged may  be  made  from  the  same  negative  which 
may  be  quite  small ;  the  print  may  be  of  any  part 
of  the  original  negative,  a  general  and  several 
detail  prints  may  be  made  from  the  same  negative; 
the  definition  may  be  varied  at  will  and  as  much 
softness  or  "fuzziness"  as  desired  may  be  had 
by  simply  changing  the  focus  on  the  screen;  the 

112 


(From  the  Journal  of  the  A.  I.  A.) 

Figure  27 

"Painting  with  Light" — 
Lower  Broadway,  New  York 


Figure  28 
A  Detail  Enlargement  of  a  Part  of  a  2"x2"  Negative 


PHOTOGRAPHY 

image  may  be  controlled  by  shading  parts  of  it 
during  exposure — these  are  only  a  few  of  the 
advantages  and  as  one  progresses  he  begins  to 
realize  that  photography  may  be  made  a  process 
of  painting  with  light  with  the  lens  doing  the 
drawing  both  mechanically  and  faithfully.  (Fig- 
ures 27  and  28). 

Bibliography 

It  must  be  quite  evident  that  the  foregoing 
paragraphs  were  not  intended  as  instruction  in  the 
science  of  photography,  but  rather  as  a  few  sug- 
gestions in  the  art  of  photography  and  its  helpful- 
ness to  the  draftsman  and  perhaps  therefore  to 
create  interest  and  enthusiasm  in  that  helpful  art. 
The  literature  of  photography  is  extensive.  The 
catalogs,  pamphlets,  and  instruction  leaflets  of  the 
manufacturers  of  photographic  apparatus  and  pro- 
ducts are  easily  available  and  a  very  important 
part  of  this  literature.  Beginners  will  find  "How 
to  Make  Good  Pictures"  published  by  the  East- 
man Kodak  Co.,  a  very  useful  little  book.  The 
"Exposure  Meter  and  Photographic  Diary,"  pub- 
lished annually  by  the  Burroughs-Wellcome  Co.,  is 
universally  valuable.  For  more  specialized  in- 
formation the  "Photo  Miniature"  series  of  book- 
lets on  every  phase  of  photography  afford  detailed 
instruction. 


113 


XL 

THE    REPRODUCTIVE    PROCESSES, 

PHOTO-ENGRAVING,  ETCHING, 

WOOD    ENGRAVING, 

LITHOGRAPHY 

Every  draftsman  sometimes  makes  a  drawing 
which  is  to  be  reproduced  by  printing.  This  is 
done  from  a  plate  made  by  what  is  called  photo- 
engraving. Before  the  development  of  this 
method  of  graphic  reproduction,  drawings  could 
be  duplicated  only  by  printing  from  metal  plates 
as  in  copper  and  steel  engraving  and  etching,  or 
from  wooden  blocks  produced  by  cutting  or  en- 
graving, or  from  specially  prepared  stones  as  in 
lithography.  Some  of  these  processes,  which 
will  be  briefly  described,  offer  tempting  diversions 
for  the  draftsman  and  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  many  of  the  best  draftsmen  of  all  times  have 
been  engravers,  etchers  or  lithographers. 

The  processes  are  of  three  classes :  first,  where 
the  printing  is  to  be  done  from  lines  and  areas  in 
type  form  or  relief  as  in  the  photo-mechanical 
processes  and  wood  cutting  or  engraving;  second, 
where  the  printing  is  done  from  a  plane  surface 
as  in  lithography;  and  third,  where  the  ink  is 

114 


REPRODUCTIVE       PROCESSES 

drawn  from  a  grooved  line  as  in  etching  and  line 
engraving. 

Photo-Engraving,  Half-Tone  and  Line  Cuts 

To  be  used  in  a  printing  press,  a  block  repro- 
ducing a  drawing  or  picture  must  be  in  the  nature 
of  type,  it  must  consist  of  a  series  of  lines  or  dots 
or  areas  in  relief,  which  may  be  inked  and  printed 
from  on  paper.  Such  blocks  are  produced  by  a 
combination  of  photography  and  the  corrosion  or 
etching  of  metal  by  means  of  acid  solutions  or 
other  mordants. 

Where  the  original  drawing  is  in  black  ink  on 
white  paper  and  has  no  gradations  or  washes,  it 
may  be  reproduced  with  a  line  cut,  but  where 
there  are  gradations  or  washes  or  where  the  lines 
are  very  fine,  the  half-tone  cut  must  be  used.  To 
make  a  half-tone  cut,  the  photographic  negative 
is  made  with  the  aid  of  a  screen  interposed  be- 
tween the  lens  and  the  sensitive  plate.  This  screen 
is  transparent  and  cross  ruled  or  cross  hatched 
with  opaque  lines  and  renders  the  image  of  the 
original  in  masses  or  groups  of  dots  of  varying 
sizes  and  propinquity — small  and  widely  spaced 
for  the  light  tints,  larger  and  more  closely  spaced 
for  the  darker  areas,  and  practically  in  a  continu- 
ous surface  for  the  blacks.  Drawings  in  pencil, 
charcoal  or  crayon  may  be  reproduced  by  the  half- 
tone process  with  a  most  charming  softness. 

115 


OVER      THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

Drawings  in  color  or  on  tinted  or  yellow  paper 
do  not  make  good  half-tone  cuts  except  by  first 
making  a  photograph  of  the  drawing  on  a  color- 
sensitive  plate,  which  reduces  it  to  a  monochrome 
with  relatively  correct  tonal  values.  The  half- 
tone may  then  be  made  successfully  by  using  the 
photograph  as  the  original. 

Colored  drawings  may  be  reproduced  in  color 
by  using  the  half-tone  color  process.  In  the  three 
color  process,  half-tone  plates  or  cuts  are  made 
from  three  negatives  of  the  original,  one  taken 
through  a  violet  screen,  one  through  a  green  and 
one  through  an  orange  screen.  Each  one  of  these 
half-tone  cuts  is  printed  in  ink  whose  color  is  the 
complementary  of  the  color  in  the  screen  used  for 
making  the  negative,  that  is,  the  first  is  printed  in 
yellow  ink,  the  second  in  red  ink,  and  the  third  in 
blue.  These  printings  are  over  each  other  and 
the  colors  combine  to  reproduce  the  colors  of  the 
original.  From  three  to  eight  cuts  and  different 
colors  of  ink  may  be  used — the  more  used,  the 
more  faithfully  the  colors  of  the  original  are 
reproduced. 

Etching 

In  etching,  a  copper  plate  is  prepared  with  an 
acid  resisting  coating.  On  this  plate,  the  picture 
is  scratched  through  to  the  metal.  The  back  and 
the  edges  are  coated  and  the  whole  immersed 

116 


(By  Permission  of  the  Journal  of  the  A.  I.  A.) 
Figure  29 

Half-Tone  Cut  of  Part  of  an  Etching 
By  F.  L.  GRIGGS 

(Same  Size  as  Original) 


REPRODUCTIVE       PROCESSES 

in  an  acid  or  other  corrosive  solution.  The 
scratched  lines  where  the  bare  metal  is  exposed, 
are  attacked  by  the  mordant  and  eaten  out  to 
the  desired  depth  after  which  the  plate  is  cleaned, 
washed  and  dried  and  is  ready  for  inking.  It 
is  inked  with  a  dauber  and  wiped  with  tarlatan, 
which  removes  the  ink  from  the  surface  but  forces 
it  into  the  etched  lines.  Printing  is  accomplished 
by  placing  a  piece  of  dampened  paper  over  the 
inked  plate,  covering  with  a  pad  and  rolling 
through  an  etching  press  with  considerable  pres- 
sure. This  forces  the  softened  paper  into  the 
grooved  lines  of  the  plate,  thus  taking  up  the 
ink.  The  small  quantity  of  ink  remaining  on  the 
surface  of  the  plate  tones  the  ground  of  the  print 
and  considerable  variation  is  possible  through 
variation  in  inking,  in  the  amount  of  ink  left  on 
various  parts  of  the  surface  of  the  plate  and  the 
pressure  used.  The  etched  lines  are  subject  to 
wear  from  the  repeated  wiping  and  pressure  ap- 
plied and  after  the  first  few  impressions,  the 
quality  of  the  lines  in  the  print  deteriorates 
gradually.  (See  Figure  29). 

In  dry  point  etching,  the  picture  is  scratched 
directly  on  the  copper  surface  and  is  printed  from 
the  burr  raised  by  the  scratching  or  etching 
needle.  In  this  process  no  mordant  is  used. 

117 


OVER     THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

Wood  Cutting  and  Engraving 

The  earliest  printing  was  from  wood.  It  is 
obvious  that  a  square  block  of  wood  may  be 
coated  with  black  printing  ink  and  a  black  square 
printed  therefrom  on  paper.  Instead  of  square, 
the  edge  of  the  block  may  be  cut  to  any  shape. 
A  line  scratched  or  engraved  on  the  printing 
surface  of  this  block  will  show  white  on  the  im- 
print. On  these  simple  principles,  wood  cutting 
and  engraving  depend.  Early  wood  cuts  were 
in  line  only,  with  occasional  masses  of  solid  black. 
It  meant  simply  making  a  drawing  on  the  smooth 
surface  of  the  wood  and  cutting  away  this  surface 
except  where  the  lines  were,  these  being  left  in 
relief  could  be  printed  from  in  the  ordinary  way. 
Of  course,  this  cutting  was  at  times  a  very  delicate 
operation.  Wood  cuts  were  made  with  a  knife 
on  a  comparatively  soft  wooden  block  whose 
surface  was  cut  with  the  grain.  About  1820  wood 
engraving  was  invented.  It  differed  from  wood 
cutting  in  that  the  work  was  done  with  a  graver 
on  the  cross-grain  surface  of  a  block  of  hard 
wood. 

Just  before  the  perfection  of  the  photo-me- 
chanical processes,  wood  engraving  was  most 
widely  used  for  book  and  magazine  illustra- 
tions. It  became  highly  developed  and  really 
overreached  itself,  going  beyond  the  natural 

118 


ROHAN  DISC 
FAVOURA 


(By  Courtesy  of  John  Lane  Co.) 

Figure  30 

Line  Cut  of  Part  of  a  Wood  Engraving 
By  CLEMENCE  HOUSMAN 

(Same   Size  as  Original) 


REPRODUCTIVE       PROCESSES 

limits  of  its  own  technique.  It  is  quite  easily  seen 
that  to  print  a  black  cross-hatch  from  a  wooden 
block,  the  lines  of  the  hatching  must  be  left  in 
relief  on  the  block  while  the  numberless  little 
lozenges  which  show  white  between  the  lines  on 
the  print  must  be  carefully  cut  out,  one  by  one. 
This  is  obviously  working  counter  to  the  nature 
of  the  process.  Quite  as  obviously,  the  more 
natural  technique  is  where  the  white  line  on  the 
print,  resulting  from  the  engraved  line  on  the 
block,  is  used  to  the  utmost  both  for  its  own  sake 
and  to  break  up  black  areas  into  grays  of  more  or 
less  depth. 

Wood  cutting  is  a  most  interesting  art,  simple 
and  within  the  reach  of  any  draftsman.  (See 
Figure  30). 

Lithography 

Perhaps  the  most  fascinating  of  all  the  repro- 
ductive processes  is  lithography.  The  principle 
is  extremely  simple,  depending  on  the  fact  that 
water  and  grease  repel  each  other.  On  a  fine- 
grained slab  of  a  special  kind  of  limestone,  the 
drawing  to  be  reproduced,  and  which  was  made 
with  greasy  crayon  or  ink,  is  either  drawn  directly 
or  transferred  from  paper.  The  stone  absorbs 
the  grease  from  the  crayon  or  ink  so  applied  and 
is  next  thoroughly  dampened,  the  greasy  marks, 
of  course,  repelling  the  water.  The  whole  is  now 

119 


OVER      THE      DRAWING      BOARD 

inked  several  times  with  an  ink  roller.  The 
greasy  ink  sticks  to  the  greasy  marks  but  is  re- 
pelled by  the  wet  surfaces.  An  impression  in  ink 
may  be  made  on  paper  by  pressing  it  in  contact 
with  the  inked  stone  in  a  lithographic  press. 

Instead  of  drawing  directly  on  the  stone,  the 
picture  may  be  drawn  on  prepared  transfer  paper 
and  by  pressure  transferred  to  the  stone,  thus 
having  the  advantage  of  not  needing  to  be  drawn 
in  reverse.  After  the  image  is  on  the  stone,  it  is 
flooded  with  dilute  acid  and  gum  solution  for  a 
time.  This  is  erroneously  called  etching  but  really 
serves  only  to  clean  the  unmarked  surfaces  of  the 
stone  and  to  dissolve  certain  ingredients  of  the  ink 
or  crayon  used.  Before  inking  all  the  coloring 
matter  in  the  marks  is  washed  off,  the  pigment 
being  used  only  to  make  the  marks  on  the  stone  or 
transfer  paper  discernible  while  drawing.  Alum- 
inum and  zinc  plates  are  also  used  for  litho- 
graphy, but  the  finest  work  is  done  on  stone. 
(See  Figure  31.) 

Another  method,  much  used  for  map  work,  is 
akin  to  engraving.  The  smooth  surface  of  the 
stone  is  coated  with  gum  solution  and  then  black- 
ened. When  dry,  the  lines  are  scratched  through 
this  black  coating,  exposing  the  bare  surface  of 
the  stone,  which  is  then  rubbed  with  grease,  this 
being  absorbed  only  by  the  bare  lines  and  not 

120 


Figure  31 

Half-Tone  Cut  of  Part  of  a  Lithograph 
By  RICHARD  PARKES  BONINGTON 

(Same  Size  as  Original) 


REPRODUCTIVE       PROCESSES 

penetrating  the  coating.  The  coating  is  washed 
off  and  the  stone  thoroughly  dampened,  the 
greased  lines  repelling  the  water.  The  ink  which 
is  now  applied,  sticks  only  to  the  greasy  lines  as 
in  regular  lithography. 

Bibliography 

HORGAN'S  HALF-TONE  AND  PHOTO-MECHANI- 
CAL  PROCESSES  by  Stephen  H.  Horgan.  In- 
land Printer  Co.,  Chicago,  111. 

THE  GRAPHIC  ARTS  by  Philip  Gilbert  Hamerton. 
Seeley,  Jackson  and  Halliday,  London  and 
MacMillan  Co.,  New  York. 

This  book,  as  its  name  implies,  covers  drawing, 
painting  and  all  the  reproductive  processes  except 
photo-mechanical  ones. 

ETCHING  AND  ETCHERS  by  Philip  Gilbert  Ham- 
erton. MacMillan  &  Co.,  London  and  Roberts 
Bros.,  Boston,  Mass. 

LITHOGRAPHY  AND  LITHOGRAPHERS  by  Eliza- 
beth Robins  and  Joseph  Pennell.  MacMillan 
Co.,  New  York. 

ENGRAVING  AND  ETCHING  by  Dr.  F.  Lippmann. 
H.  Grevel  &  Co.,  London. 

THE  INTERNATIONAL  ENCYCLOPEDIA. 
THE  ENCYCLOPEDIA  BRITANNICA. 

121 


INDEX 

PAGE 

A 

Adjustable  Triangles 41 

Aids   in   Free-hand   Perspective 91 

All-over  or  Solid  Mounting  of  Drawings   19 

Applied   Bands    27 

Approximation,  Ellipse  by  43 

Approximation,   Oval   by    46 

Approximation,  Rake  Ellipse  by    44 

Approximation,  Spiral  Curves  by   50 

Arcs,   Tangency  of    42 

B 

Bands,  Applied   27 

Bibliography  of  Photography   113 

Bibliography  of  Reproductive  Processes  121 

Blue-prints  for  Office  Copies  79 

Blue-prints,  Shrinkage  of 72 

Blue-prints,  Tracings    and     63 

Board,  Mounting  on  Compo-    21 

Boards,  Cleaning  after  Stretch-Mounting   17 

Boards,  Drawing    7 

Borders   and  Mats    25 

Borders  and  Mats,  Mitered    26 

Brown   Ink 8* 

Brush   Technique    89 

c 

Camera,  Choice  of  109 

Centers  in    Perspective 91 

Charcoal  Drawings  on  Tracing-Paper,  Mr.  Plait's 31 

Cleaning  of  Boards   after   Stretch-Mounting    17 

Cloth,  Tracing   (see  Tracing  Cloth  or  Linen)    36 

Cloth,  Tracing  Paper  versus   33 

Color,   Experiments    in    83 

Color  to  Indicate  Materials    74 

Colored  Inks  to  Indicate  Materials,  Watered  and  76 

Colors  or  Pigments,  Selection  of    85 

123 


PAGE 

Colors,  Settlement  in  Water-   89 

Colors,  Transparent  and  Opaque 87 

Colors,  Water   S3 

Compasses  and  Dividers 9 

Compo-board,   Mounting  on    21 

Composition,    Essentials  of   87,  88 

Contact  Prints,   Photographic    in 

Copying,   Squaring  in    33 

Corners  and  Intersections  of  Lines 67 

Corners,  Numbering  in  all  Four 62 

Corners,  Sticking  Down  in  Mounting  18 

Covers   for  Drawings    I 

Cross-Section  Paper,  Squared  or   33 

Curling  of  Mount,  Prevention    19 

D 

Demounting  Tracings    33 

Detail  Drawings,  General   and    69 

Detail  Drawings,  Making  the  New  Way   71 

Detail  Drawings,  Making  the  Old  Way    70 

Details,  Full   Size   71 

Details,  Studying  of   73 

Details,  Symmetrical    73 

Development  in  Photography   no 

Dewey  Decimal   System    105 

Diagonals,  Use  of  in  Perspective 91 

Diluted  Inks,  Watered  or   n 

Dimensioning  of  Drawings    77 

Dimensioning,  Practical  Requirements  of   77 

Dimension  of  One  Side  of  Sheet,  Standard 102 

Direct  Index  for  Files  104 

Dividers,   Compasses    and    9 

Dividing  a  Line  into  Equal  Parts   39 

Divisions,  Even,  in  Perspective   92 

Divisions,  Odd,  in  Perspective   92 

Drafting  Room,  Full-Size  Scales  in. 7 

Drafting  Room,  Furniture   in    4 

Drafting  Room,  Light  in    5 

Drafting  Room,  Ventilation  of   5 

Drafting  Room,  Water  in    8 

Drawing  as  a  Language   a 

Drawing  Boards    7 

Drawing  Tables     7 

Drawings,  General   and  Detail    69 

124 


PAGE 

Drawings,  Monochrome    89 

Drawings,  Original    64 

Drawings,  Working — Function  of   63 

E 

Elevations  from  Photographs,   Constructing  Plans  and    ...  99 

Ellipse  and  Oval    41 

Ellipse  by  Approximation   43,  44 

Ellipse,  Drawing  of  True   48 

Ellipse,  Drawing  of  True  by  Straight-Edge  Method  50 

Ellipse,  Drawing  of  True  by  String  Method   48 

Engraving,   Photo-    115 

Engraving,  Wood  118 

Enlargement  of  Drawing,  Photo-  82 

Equal  Distances,  Laying  off 41 

Equal  Parts,  Dividing  a  Line  into 39 

Erasers    n 

Erasing,  Light  Rubbing  in 12 

Erasing  Shield   12 

Essentials  of  Composition 88 

Etching    116 

Even  Divisions  in  Perspective    92 

Experiments  in  Color    83 

Exposure  in  Photography  no 

F 

Filing  and  Storing  of  Drawings 101 

Filing  of  Drawings,  Advantages  of  Vertical 102 

Filing  Plates  and  Photographs   103 

Filing  Plates  and  Photographs,  Vertical   103 

Formal   Studies    88 

Free-hand  Lettering,  A  Method  of 55 

Free-hand  Perspective    90 

Free-hand  Perspective,  Aids  in    91 

Free-hand  Perspective,  Laying  Out  a   95 

"Frothing"  with  Tracing  Paper    34 

Full-Size   Details    71 

Full-Size  Scales  in  Drafting  Room   7 

Function  of  the  Tracing   36 

Function  of  Working  Drawings    63 

Furniture  in  Drafting  Room   6 

125 


PAGE 
G 

General  and  Detail  Drawings  69 

Geometry,   Value  of    $9 

Glass,   Tinted    25 

Guide  Lines  for  Free-hand  Lettering 54 

H 

Half-Tone  Cuts   1x5 

Handling  of  Tracing  Cloth  37 

Hatching  to  Indicate  Materials 74 

I 

Index  for  Files,  Direct  104 

Indicate  Materials,  Color  to  74 

Indicate  Materials,  Hatching  to   74 

Indicate  Materials,  Standard  Symbols  to 74 

Indicate  Materials,  Watered  and  Colored  Ink  to  76 

Indication  vs.  Representation   66 

Ink,  Brown  82 

Ink,  Watered  or  Diluted   n 

Instruments  and   Materials    j 

Instruments,  Quality  of    3 

Intersections  of  Lines,  Corners  and   67 

Inverted  Perspective,  Example  of 99 

Inverting  the  Process  of  Perspective  97 

L 

Laying  off  Equal  Distances   41 

Laying  Out  a  Perspective  Free-hand 95 

Lettering    54 

Lettering  Backwards    58 

Lettering,  A  Method  of  Free-hand 55 

Lettering,  Guide  lines  for  and  Spacing  of  54 

Light  in  Drafting  Room  5 

Light,  Painting  with   112 

Line   Cuts 115 

Lines,  Guide  for  Lettering   54 

Lithography    119 

M 

Materials,  Color  to  Indicate   74 

Materials,  Hatching  to   Indicate    74 

Materials,  Standard  Symbols  to  Indicate   74 

126 


PAGE 

Materials,  Watered  and  Colored  Inks  to  Indicate  76 

Mats,   Borders    and 25 

Mats,  Mitered  Borders  and    26 

Measured  Drawings,  Squared  or  Cross-section  Paper  in...  32 

Measuring  in  Perspective,  Diagonals  for 95 

Media  for  Sketches,  Paper  and   80 

Mirror  in  Symmetrical  Drawing,  Use  of  73 

Mitered  Borders  and  Mats   26 

Modification  of  Color  by  Color  of  Mount  25 

Monochrome  Drawings    89 

Mount,   Keeping   Straight    17,  19 

Mounted  Tracings,  Advantage  of  23 

Mounting  Drawings,  All-over  or  Solid 19 

Mounting  Drawings  by  Sticking  Down  Corners   18 

Mounting  Drawings  on  Compo-board   21 

Mounting  Drawings  on    Stretchers    20 

Mounting  Drawings,  Trimming  and 18 

Mounting  of  Paper,  All-over  or  Solid . 16 

Mounting  of  Tracing  Paper,  All-over  or  Solid   22 

Mounting,   Stretch    (see   Stretch-Mounting) 

N 

Newels,  Method  of  Drawing  Scroll   50 

Notes  on  Drawings ;  Specifications   78 

Numbering  in   all   Corners  of   Sheet 62 

Numbering,  Systems  of  61 

Numbers,  Tracing  of  Titles  and   59 

o 

Odd  Divisions  in  Perspective   92 

Office  Copies,  Blue-prints  for   79 

Office  Copies,  Original  Tracings  Not  to  Be  Used  as 78 

Old  Rolled  Drawings,  Treatment  of 103 

Opaque  Colors,  Transparent  and    87 

Original   Drawings    64 

Original  Drawings,  Titling  of  62 

Original  Tracings  Not  to  Be  Used   as  Office  Copies   78 

Oval   and  Ellipse   41 

Oval  by  Approximation    46 

P 

Painting,  Tinted  Outline  vs 86 

Painting  with  Light  112 

Paper  for  Pencil    81 

127 


PAGE 

Paper  and  Media  for  Sketching So 

Paper,  Tracing    (see  Tracing  Paper) 

Pen    and    Ink    82 

Pencil,  Paper  for    8r 

Pencil   and  Tinting,  Soft   81 

Pencils    10 

Pens,  Ruling 9 

Pens,   Sharpening  of  Ruling   10 

Perspective,  Aids  in  Free-hand   91 

Perspective,  Centers  in   91 

Perspective,  Diagonals  for  Measuring  in 95 

Perspective,  Diagonals  in   91 

Perspective,  Even   Divisions   in    92 

Perspective,  Example  of  Inverted   99 

Perspective,  Free-hand    90 

Perspective,  Geometric    90 

Perspective,  Inverting  the   Process   of 97 

Perspective,  Laying  Out  a   Free-hand 95 

Perspective,  Odd  Divisions  in    92 

Photo-Engraving    115 

Photo-enlargement  of  Drawing    82 

Photographs,  Constructing  Plans  and  Elevations  from 99 

Photographs,  Filing  of  Plates   and 103 

Photographs  of  Drawings  for  Reference    79 

Photography,  Bibliography    of    113 

Photography,  Pictorial    108 

Photography,  Record    108 

Photography,  Two  Kinds  of  108 

Pigments  or  Colors,  Selection  of 85 

Plans  and  Elevations  from  Photographs   99 

Platt's,  Mr.  Charcoal  Drawings  on   Tracing  Paper   31 

Powdering  Surface  of  Tracing  Cloth 37 

Preparation   of  Sheets   for   Drawing    62 

Print,  Tracing  and  Blue 63 

Printing  Titles  from  Zinc  Cuts   60 

Print-roller,  Use  of  Photographic   17 

Prints,  Blue-  for  Office  Copies   79 

Prints,  Photographic  by  Contact   in 

Prints,  Photographic  by  Projection    112 

Projection,  Advantages  of  Photographic  112 

R 

Rake   Ellipse  by  Approximation    44 

Record  Photography   108 

128 


PAGE 

Rendering  on  Tracing  Paper   31 

Representation,  Indication  vs 66 

Reproductive  Processes 1 14 

Reproductive  Processes,   Bibliography    121 

Rolled  Drawings,  Treatment  of  Old   103 

Roller,  Use  of  Photographic  Print 17 

Rolls  of  Tracing  Paper,  Short  30 

Rubber  Stamps  for  Titles   60 

Rubbing  in  Erasing,  Light 12 

Ruling  Pens   9 

Ruling  Pens,  Sharpening  of   10 

s 

Scale  Drawings,   Studying  of   68 

Scale  of  Indications   76 

Scales    9 

Scales  in  Drafting  Room,  Full-size  7 

Scales  of  Working  Drawings   65 

Scraper,  Use  of  Wall   17 

Scroll  Newels,  Method  of  Drawing   50 

Settlement  in  Water-colors   89 

Shades  and  Shadows   88 

Sharpening  of  Ruling  Pens   10 

Shield,   Erasing    12 

Short  Rolls  of  Tracing  Paper   30 

Shrinkage  of  Blue-prints   72 

Silhouette  Lines   67 

Size   of  Sheets,  Standard    101 

Sketches,   Character  of  Studies   and    80 

Sketches,  Paper  and  Media  for 80 

Sketching,  Squared  and  Cross-section  Paper  in  32 

Soft  Pencil   and  Tinting    81 

Spacing    of  Lettering    54,  58 

Specifications  and  Notes  on  Drawings   78 

Spiral   Curves  by  Approximation    50 

Squared  or  Cross-section  Paper   32 

Squares,   T- 8 

Squaring   in    Copying    33 

Stamps  for  Titles,  Rubber  60 

Standard,   One   Dimension  of   Sheet 102 

Standard  Size  of  Sheets   101 

Standard  Symbols  to  Indicate  Materials   74 

Sticking  Down   Corners  for  Mounting    18 

Storing  of  Drawings,  Filing  and  101 

129 


PAGE 

Straight,  Keeping  Mount  19 

Straight-Edge  Method  of  Drawing  Ellipse 50 

Stretchers,    Mooting   on    20 

Stretch-mounting,  General  Process  of 14 

Stretch-mounting  Heavy   Paper    14 

Stretch-mounting  Tracing  Paper   24 

Stretch-mounting  versus  Thumb-tacks    13 

Stretch-mounting,  Very   Heavy  Paper   15 

Stretch-Mounting,  Very  Thin  Paper  it 

String  Method  of  Drawing  Ellipse    48 

Studies  and  Sketches,  Character  of  80 

Studies,  Formal   88 

Studying  Details   73 

Studying  on  Tracing  Paper   29,  30 

Studying  Scale  Drawings  68 

Symbols  to  Indicate  Materials   74 

Symmetrical    Details    7* 

Symmetrical  Drawing,  Mirror  in 73 

T 

Tables,   Drawing    7 

Tacking  of  Tracing    Cloth    37,  3* 

Tangency   of    Arcs    42 

Thumb-tacks,   Stretch  Mounting  vs 13 

Tinted  Glass   25 

Tinted  Outline  vs.  Painting 86 

Titling  of  Drawings   59 

Titling  of  Originals   62 

Titles   and  Numbers,  Tracing  of   59 

Titles,  Printing  from  Zinc-cuts    60 

Titles,  Rubber  Stamps  for    60 

Tracing  and  Blue-print 63 

Tracing  Cloth,   Handling   of    37 

Tracing  Cloth    or  Linen    36 

Tracing  Cloth,  Powdering  Surface  of   37 

Tracing  Cloth,  Tacking  of  37,  3* 

Tracing,  Function    of    3* 

Tracing  of  Titles  and  Numbers    59 

Tracing  Paper,  All-over  or  Solid  Mounting  of 22 

Tracing  Paper,  "Frothing"  with    34 

Tracing  Paper,  General  Uses  of  29 

Tracing  Paper,  How  to  Use  in  Studying 29>  3° 

Tracing  Paper,  Rendering   on    31 

Tracing  Paper,  Short  Rolls  of  30 

130 


PAGE 

Tracing  Paper,  Stretch-Mounting  of    24 

Tracing  Paper,  Transferring   with    34 

Tracing  Paper  vs.  Cloth   33 

Tracings,   Advantage  of  Mounted    23 

Tracings,   Demounting  of    23 

Tracings  Not  to  be  Used  as  Office  Copies,   Original    78 

Transferring  with  Tracing  Paper 34 

Transparent  and  Opaque  Colors  87 

Triangles    8 

Triangles,    Adjustable    41 

Triangles,  45°     41 

Triangles,  30°   and  60°    41 

Trimming  and  Mounting  Drawings   18 

T-Squares   t 

V 

Ventilation  of  Drafting  Room   5 

Vertical  Filing  of  Drawings,  Advantage  of   102 

Vertical  Filing  of  Plates  and  Photographs  103 

w 

Wall   Scraper,   Use  of    17 

Water   Colors    83 

Water  Colors,  Settlement  in   89 

Watered  and  Colored  Inks  to  Indicate  Materials   76 

Watered  or  Diluted  Ink 1 1 

Water  in  Drafting  Room   8 

Wood    Cutting    1 18 

Wood    Engraving    118 

Working  Drawings,  Function  of   63 

Working  Drawings,  Scales  of   6$ 

z 

Zinc-cuts  for  Printing  Titles    60 


131 


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